Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
by fadingtales
Summary: Oliver is trapped in a dream world where he is not the Arrow and realizes that without the burden of being the vigilante he may finally be able to be with someone he truly cares about. Meanwhile in the real world, Felicity struggles to find Oliver and bring him home. S2 with alternating POVs from Oliver and Felicity. Olicity, Dream!AU.
1. Act I: Slumber - Part I

**Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This**

Oliver gets knocked out during a mission and wakes up to an alternate life where he was never on the island. In the real world, Felicity struggles to put together the disturbing puzzle pieces of the events leading up to Oliver's strange disappearance. Takes place sometime in season 2.

**A/N:** The plot of this fic was inspired by the _Perchance to Dream_ episode in the Batman: Animated Series, which is like my all-time FAVORITE Batman episode. This is definitely AU, more like an AU within an AU, so it's kind like _Inception _too I guess. Will be a multi-fic, but be forewarned… I'm bad at finishing my overambitious multi-fics. Unbeta'd so apologies for the inevitable mistakes. They are all mine.

**Part I:**

OLIVER

It was supposed to be just another mission. She wasn't even supposed to be in the field that night. Felicity rarely went beyond of the confines of Foundry during a mission unless absolutely necessary. It was supposed to be an easy job. He'd been on patrol when Felicity had gotten the alert that one of the local gangs had a shipment of some kind of new drug coming in. All he had to do was get in, break up the drug ring, tip off Detective Lance, and then get out before the cops showed. Nothing that the Arrow hadn't handle before. He could've done it in his sleep. Maybe that's why things ended up the way they did. He'd been too careless. Thought it was just another mission when it wasn't.

Getting into the warehouse was abnormally easy. That should have been the first thing to tip him off that something wasn't quite right. When the bomb went off, communications went dark. Everything after was a blur. One moment Diggle was beside him and the next the ex-soldier was gone. Oliver remembered his head feeling like it had been split in two, his ears buzzing like a horde of bees. Things were bad. They were completely unprepared. He remembered praying that Diggle wasn't in pieces, that they'd have a whole body to bury when they got him home. That his ribs, which were certainly broken, won't puncture a lung and drown him in his own blood. That's when he saw her across the room through the smoke.

He remembered crawling through the rubble because his legs wouldn't move. That his hands were outstretched towards her. That everything was numb and slow, as if he were underwater. Oliver scanned the surroundings for an exit route, but found that it would be pointless since he can't even seem to bring himself to stand, much less walk. There was something dripping into his vision. He reach a hand up to touch it and his hand came away bloody. He was bleeding. Too much he realized as the corners of his vision dimmed. He tried to speak, ask her what the hell she was doing here, to get out now, to run, but all the words died on his lips as another bomb went off. He felt the whisper of her name on his lips before he blacked out.

xxx

Oliver woke up shouting. Cold sweat had soaked through the sheets tangled around him. The room was abnormally bright. He blinked against it. Rubbing his eyes, his vision cleared. He was in a room he didn't' recognize.

He quickly ran a hand down chest, arms, legs, checking for wounds and accessing the damage. It was disconcerting that he did not find any despite the pounding headache he was suffering. Oliver had the unsettling feeling that something was not right. Memories of the night before poured in and his heart began racing with thoughts for Diggle and Felicity. Felicity who wasn't even supposed to be there.

A loud pounding at the door got him quickly up on his feet and reaching for the closest makeshift weapon he could find. He made do with a lamp that looked oddly similar to the one Thea had made for him in her sophomore year in ceramics. The one that they had accidentally knocked over during Christmas several years ago, before his fateful trip with his father and Sara on the Queen's Gambit, before Lian Yu.

The knocking resumed and he plastered himself against the wall. Oliver braced himself as the door knob started turning.

"Mr. Queen? Mr. Queen, did you forge-"

Oliver dropped the lamp and launched himself at Diggle. Relief washed over him as he wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Thank god! You're okay."

Diggle awkwardly patted Oliver back with one hand before the releasing him. "Is there a reason I'm not supposed to be?"

"Don't you remember? The warehouse and the bomb. Is Felicity alright, too?"

Diggle only stared back at him with a perplexed expression.

"Did you go out with Tommy again last night? Had a bit too much to drink? I thought you were over that party stuff already."

Oliver felt his heart clench at the name. He almost didn't even get the words out. "Tommy?"

"Yes. Tommy," Diggle repeated, his expression growing more bewildered by Oliver's behavior. "You sure you're okay?"

"Tommy's… Tommy's alive?" The notion bowled Oliver over and he felt his heart hammering in his chest.

"If he had whatever the hell you drank last night, maybe not. Did you two really think it was a good idea to party the night before the board meeting? We're already late as it is."

Diggle pushed past him and stepped towards the closet, leaving Oliver reeling in the aftermath of what had just been dropped on him. Tommy was _alive_.

Diggle came back out of his closet holding a complete suit and tie outfit. "Get dressed. Now."

Oliver dressed quickly and then followed Diggle out of the unfamiliar apartment. He'd noticed a photograph of him and Laurel on the way out, but couldn't wrap his brain around it.

They drove to Queen Consolidated in silence. He tapped his feet anxiously the entire ride and noticed that Diggle would check his rearview mirror on him once or twice.

Once in the building, Diggle led him into the elevator and up to the executive floor. When the doors dinged open, Diggle said, "The meeting will be in the boardroom. Someone should already be in there setting up."

Oliver turned and looked to his right where the boardroom was located. Through the clear glass he recognized her silhouette from the back, but it wasn't until she turned around and adjusted her glasses, smiling that signature Felicity smile, that he felt the tenseness in his body lift.

"Mr. Queen!" she said, walking towards him with a tablet in her hands. "I just finished setting up the projector and screen. Your presentation should run smoothly without any problems. I also converted your file into..." she trailed off when Oliver wouldn't stop staring at her.

It was strange that she didn't call him Oliver, but he shook the feeling away. Stranger things had happened this morning. Besides, she was okay. Whole and smiling and okay. That was all that mattered and he couldn't help smiling.

"Mr. Queen, is something the matter? Why are you staring?" When he didn't reply she suddenly reached up to her face, "Is there something on my face?"

She swiped at her mouth and cheeks, blushing a bright pink.

Oliver laughed before slowly pulling her hands away from her face. "No, there's nothing on your face, Felicity." He beamed at her. "It's just… really good to see you," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She crinkled her brows, but returned his smile. "Um, it's nice to see you, too." After a beat she said, "I didn't even know you knew my name."

Before Oliver could reply, some throat clearing interrupted them. Felicity quickly shook his hands off her wrists and stepped away from him, flushing slightly.

Oliver whirled around and saw, standing next to Diggle, a face he never thought he would ever see again.

"Dad?"

"Cutting it a close today aren't we, kiddo?" Robert Queen teased.

Taking two long strides Oliver reached his father and pulled him into a long tight hug.

The Queen patriarch raised his eyebrow towards Diggle from out of Oliver's sight.

"He's been in a hugging mood today," supplied Diggle.

The two Queens broke apart and Robert Queen gripped his son by the shoulders.

"Well! There's a lot of reasons to be hugging lately… but really, Oliver, this project you're pitching to the board today, I hope you're ready to wow them. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud that you've come up with the idea yourself. It's certainly something I hadn't expected from you. But the board, they won't be as easily charmed by your piercing blue eyes."

Oliver didn't miss the side glance his father gave Felicity. Saw that she had noticed, too. Saw it in the way her shoulders stiffened and her blush deepened. He felt his jaw clenching. He was responsible for putting her in this position.

"Um, Mr. Queen?" She said, clearing her throat. Both Queens turned toward her. "I mean, uh, Mr. _Oliver _Queen," she clarified, "Here are your notes. I've already preloaded them along with your slides."

Felicity flicked her finger with impossible speed on her tablet and then handed it over to him.

"It truly is a wonderful project, Mr. Queen. Would really improve the city for the better," she said, smiling shyly.

Before Oliver can take a look his father had taken the tablet from him.

"Yes!" Robert interjected. "It'll definitely increase the number of jobs in the city and improve our PR. Now, Ms…"

"Smoak," Felicity supplied.

"I think we're done here. You can return to your department now."

Felicity nodded succinctly and started to turn away. Before she did, Oliver caught her wrist and managed a thank you. To which she responded with a polite nod of her head before ducking out with Diggle following close behind. The sight of their retreating figures uneased him. Little did he know his day was going to end up much stranger.

Just before he followed his father, he caught sight of Water Steele on the TV screen outside in the hallway, introduced as the Mayor of the Starling City.

FELICITY

23:59:57, 23:59:58, 23:59:59…24:00:00… It was now twenty four hours since Oliver went dark. Twenty hours since the bomb went off. Twenty four hours, the amount of time they had to wait before the police would allow them to declare him a missing person.

Felicity was so preoccupied with her screen that she didn't notice Diggle getting up. He was nursing a broken arm and a few bruised ribs, but was otherwise alright. It was miraculous. Or calculated. Felicity believed in the latter.

"You need to rest."

"I don't." She took a sip of her coffee to demonstrate.

"Oliver wouldn't want this."

"Oliver isn't here and that's entirely the problem," she quipped.

"He's gone missing for longer periods than this, Felicity."

"Yeah, but not like this."

They'd been set up from the start. The alert. The warehouse. The bomb. It was all part of some greater elaborate scheme. She just hadn't figured it out yet.

They wanted Oliver, she'd gather that much. The bomb had been little more than smoke and mirrors. Some kind of knockout gas and flash bombs for effect, enough to distract them while they spirited Oliver away. And now he truly was a ghost.

No matter how hard she ran her system, how many cyber crevices she searched, she couldn't trace where the bogus alert originated from. And that terrified her because Felicity was humble about many things, but she knew with confidence that she was an exceptional hacker. And if she wasn't then… then what the hell was she doing here? She has failed Oliver.

Her screen lit up with the words: no results found.

"Dammit!" She slammed her hand hard against the keyboard.

Diggle was quickly by her side.

"Hey, hey… take it easy, alright?"

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. The frustrating tears were already burning behind her eyes.

"It's my fault!" She sobbed, finally letting the hot rivulets rain down her cheeks.

Diggle pulled her to him with his good arm, making quiet shushing sounds.

"I was the one that found that alert. I was the one that told Oliver about it. Oh god, Diggle, I almost got you killed and now Oliver's gone."

"You couldn't have known, Felicity."

"But I should've!"

"No," Diggle said firmly, holding her by the shoulder with his left hand. "This isn't anyone's fault. We were set up. Blindsided. No one could've seen it coming. So there's no point in beating yourself up. That's not going to help get Oliver back."

Felicity nodded and released a long breath. Diggle tried to give her a small smile, but they were both still feeling weak.

"You need to hit the showers. Get some rest. At least for a few hours. Go home, Felicity. There's nothing more we can do for now."

Felicity doesn't remember how, but she got into her car and drove herself home. Despite her stubbornness, Diggle had been right. Once she finished her shower she collapsed into bed and slept like the dead.

OLIVER

Verdant was a sight for sore eyes. It was 3pm so the club was closed, but Oliver had a key. The club looked mostly the same and that provided Oliver with a bit of relief. He allowed his muscle memory to take him down the stairs to the basement. He stopped at the wall where the hidden door to the Foundry should be. Cabinets lined it. He pushed them aside, careful not to knock down any of the bottles and found himself staring at a bricked up wall.

His heart was pounding. He ran his hand along the bricks, alternating between pushing against them and digging into their crevices. They would not budge. After what seemed like hours of trying every single corner of basement for an opening, he slumped to the floor. The Foundry simply did not exist. And if the Foundry didn't exist, then the Arrow most likely didn't exist. But then if there was no Green Arrow, then who the hell was he?

Sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs got him standing.

"I thought I heard something down here. It's a good thing it was you and not some burglars or I would have had to bust out my karate chops."

Tommy was at the foot of the steps, smiling at him. It was his second time seeing a ghost that day and he still wasn't used to it.

"What? Last night wasn't enough for you?" Tommy teased, clapping him on the shoulder. "Man, I was nursing the most killer headache this morning."

"Tommy," Oliver whispered. He'd dreamed of this moment so many times. If only Tommy was alive again, he had wished. There were so many things he wanted to tell Tommy, but at the moment he could not think of one.

Tommy's face tensed when he noticed Oliver's expression. "What? What happened? Did Laurel give you hell?"

Oliver shook his head and tried to smile. "Nothing. Yeah, I got an earful," he lied.

"Don't worry, Laurel will get over it. If not I'll go and tell her it was my fault."

Oliver tried to smile again.

"What were you doing in the basement anyway?"

Oliver shook his head and glanced around, fumbling for an excuse. "I, um, I was," he searched around and grabbed a bottle of red, "just looking to steal a bottle of Laurel's favorite. Thought it'd help me get out of the dog house."

Tommy frowned at him, turned around and grabbed a rosé. "If you're looking for Laurel's favorite then you might want to try this instead."

Tommy handed over the bottle and Oliver blinked down on it.

"Don't you remember? That's the bottle you guys had when you took her on that trip to France last year. Before you moved in together. It's her favorite now."

"Oh! Right…" Oliver said. "Of course…"

"You sure you're alright?" Tommy asked again.

"Yeah, yeah. Just beat I guess. I think I'll go home."

Tommy nodded and stepped aside, not saying anything further.

As Oliver exited Verdant, he realized with terrifyingly and exhilaratingly clarity, that he was from this day forward simply Oliver Queen. And he wasn't quite sure he knew how to be.

FELICITY

Felicity woke up a start, her phone going off. Giving the clock on her bed stand a cursory glance, it read 10:37AM. She was late for work. The first time ever, though it matter little since Oliver was gone. It was probably HR on the phone wondering why neither their CEO nor his executive assistant managed show up to work today. The rumor mill had already been working double time and it was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

Nonetheless, she and Diggle had already put together a cover story that Oliver was out of town on urgent personal business until they could locate him. Felicity had never enjoyed lying and so she steeled herself, mentally reciting the words she would say before she picked up. She was startled to hear Thea Queen's voice on the line instead of Beth's from Human Resources.

"Felicity? Felicity! Oh god, thank goodness you picked up. Is Ollie with you? Please tell me he is, oh god!"

Felicity shook her head, barely catching anything the youngest Queen said.

"Thea, slow down. What's going on?"

"Didn't you see the news? Somebody bombed Queen Consolidated."

xxx

Both Felicity and Diggle rushed to Queen Consolidated, at least what was left of the building. Detective Lance was already at the scene. The police had the entire block quarantined and a bomb squad had been activated. The entire place was a madhouse. There was over two dozen people missing, possibly dead, a hundred more injured. Being late that morning had probably saved Felicity's life.

They found Thea with eyes red rimmed in the middle of all the chaos, Roy beside her. The young Queen girl looked utterly defeated and nearly collapsed into Felicity arms when she came over to hug her.

"They say both Ollie and my mother are still unaccounted for," Thea whispered into Felicity's hair before being wracked with a new wave of sobs.

Felicity felt her heart splintering in two and she struggled swallow the rock lodged in her throat. Her eyes were stinging again, but she wouldn't let herself cry. She'd done enough of that last night and right now Thea needed them to be strong. Diggle saved her once again when he touched his hand to her shoulder.

"We have to get out of this madhouse, girls. Thea, it's not safe for you out here. Someone was clearly targeting the Queens and as of right now…" Diggle couldn't bring himself to say it.

"I'm the last Queen standing," Thea finished for him, her voice laced with bitterness.

Twenty four hours… all it took for their entire lives to be torn apart.


	2. Act I: Slumber - Part II

**Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This**

Oliver gets knocked out during a mission and wakes up to an alternate life where he was never on the island. In the real world, Felicity struggles to put together the disturbing puzzle pieces of the events leading up to Oliver's strange disappearance. Takes place sometime in season 2.

**A/N:** I am OVERWHELMED by your responses to this fic. I hope I do it justice. And for those who are worried about me finishing this story, I AM working on a chapter outline and I'm hoping to release a new chapter every week. Also, disclaimer for all the techies and business/finance people out there. I'm no expert and I'm making stuff up, so if something I suggest is highly implausible do let me know! It's hard trying to think like a tech genius like Felicity when I'm soooo not one. Otherwise, please just suspend your disbelief for the sake of the story. Again, un-beta'd so apologies for any mistakes. Please let me know if you spot anything. Thank you for all the likes, kudos, comments, favorites, follows, and reviews.

**Part II: **

FELICITY

Thea was announced the sole heir to Queen Consolidated two days after the bombing. She had not wanted to make the announcement, in the hopes that somehow they'd find Oliver and Moira, but the stockholders were anxious, there had to be a Queen at the figurehead, and so it was done. Diggle was posted with Thea almost 24/7 now. There were, as of yet, no suspects under custody. The motive of the act remained unclear and not knowing was the worst part of it.

Felicity stuck close to the youngest Queen as well. She'd failed Oliver so the least she could do was try and keep his sister safe. During the day Felicity helped Thea navigate the incessant meetings and during the night she resumed looking for Oliver.

The bombing of Queen Consolidated and Oliver's disappearance were connected. Of that, she was sure. Still, no matter how much she hunted for the origins of the bogus alert, she couldn't find a single thing.

"Ms. Queen, I know this is a difficult time for you, but frankly we, the board, are concerned."

Simon Lacroix, the Vice Chair of the Board, steepled his fingers, a grave expression on his face. He was younger than most of the other board members, probably only about a decade older than Oliver, and had been Robert Queen's protégé before his trip on the Queen's Gambit. Felicity had noted that he and Oliver had butted heads on several occasions before.

"Let's be frank, Ms. Queen," Simon started. "Stocks are plummeting. We are already in the hole for paying out the hospital bills for all the employees' injuries-"

"Are you suggesting that we cut payment for all the employees who were hurt in the bombing?" Thea asked, incredulous. "Because I would rather sell my shares than let that happen."

The gray-haired board members glanced at one another and Felicity felt her stomach flip. She had a feeling that they wouldn't like what the board was about to say.

"We think… that _that_ may be the solution to our problems."

"You want Thea to sell the company?" Felicity spoke before she had time to stop herself. The board cleared their throats, a look of disdain crossing their faces. They pretended she hadn't spoken at all, she was a lowly assistant after all.

"Answer Ms. Smoak's question," Thea demanded.

Felicity stiffened in her seat. At times, she was struck by just how much Thea was like her brother. This was one of those moments and it made her miss Oliver all the more. The board members, once again, looked amongst themselves before one of them spoke.

"The truth is we've gotten interest from a biomedical company, Allied Snows."

Thea stood up abruptly, her face grave. "It hasn't even been a week! My mother and brother-"

"Are still unaccounted for," Simon interjected. "The truth is the company is hemorrhaging money. It had been even before this horrific event. I'm sorry to say it, but both your mother and brother were not capable of leading Queen Consolidated. It was obvious that both of them were distracted and unfocused on the company."

Simon had always been angry and discontent with the way Moira Queen ran things after the late Mr. Queen's death. He had also demonstrated his frustration with Oliver when the prodigal son had been appointed CEO so quickly after his "resurrection".

"If we wait any longer, we will be declaring Chapter 15 within the month. We've been chasing a solution to fix this problem keeping you at the head, but have come up empty handed. Allied Snows has now come to us with an answer."

"An answer that leaves me selling my majority shares," Thea replied stiffly. "Selling my family's legacy!"

"If you keep it, your legacy will be of bankruptcy and ruin, Ms. Queen. Sentimentality has no place in business," Simon Lacroix said dispassionately.

Thea fell back down in her seat, fists clenched at her side. Felicity's heart broke to see her this way. Steeling herself, she turned to the board and said, "Ms. Queen will need time to consider your proposal. I suggest we adjourn for now."

Despite their grumbling, the board knew there was nothing more to say and each made their exit. Once the room cleared Diggle came in to stand beside Thea.

"Everything is falling apart," Thea whispered, her head bent down, fists clenched in her lap. Felicity noticed a single tear drop onto the back of the youngest Queen's hand, followed by another and another and another.

"We'll get through this," Felicity said, her voice came out more cracked than she'd like. She cleared her throat and tried again, "We _will _get through this."

Thea didn't seem to believe her either time around.

"Diggle, why don't you take Thea home for the day?"

"No!" Thea shouted, looking up. Her eyes were rimmed red and swollen, but a fire flared in them. "No, the board treats me as a kid as it is. That's why they're pushing me around. They think they can bully me into doing whatever they want. Going home now, like some kicked puppy, would only satisfy them," she said with ferocity.

Both Diggle and Felicity exchanged glances.

"Okay," Diggle said. "What do you want to do, boss?"

Thea smiled a little at his moniker and then got up from her seat. "I do need to change. Diggle, could you run back to the mansion and get me a change of clothes?" Turning to Felicity she said, "I want to schedule a meeting with the Queen family's personal financial manager in an hour, can you do that for me, Felicity?"

"Of course," Felicity replied.

"And one more thing… I need you to get me Walter Steele on the line."

OLIVER

A hand waving in his face woke Oliver up from his reverie. He'd been thinking of the Foundry again.

"Ollie?" Laurel said. "Did you hear me? I've been calling your name for a while now."

"Did you? I'm sorry. I must have zoned out."

They were having dinner at their apartment. _Their _apartment. He and Laurel were finally together. It still felt unreal. So far he's played along. What else was he supposed to do? Blurt out to Laurel that he thinks he's from an alternate universe and he's supposed to be a masked vigilante? Being a DA, she would have loved to hear that, if she doesn't get him thrown into a psych ward first.

_No_, Oliver thought. He couldn't do that. Besides, there wasn't anything particularly sinister about any of this. In fact, it seemed very much his ideal life. His father and Tommy were alive. The city was a better place. He was with Laurel. Wasn't that the way things should be? He couldn't dream up anything more perfect.

So why did it feel like something was missing?

"Are you having a headache again?" Laurel said, placing her hand on his arm.

"No, no. I'm fine," Oliver replied, shaking his head. "What were you saying?"

"I was just saying that we got the invitation to the Firemen's Charity Ball. Your mother called earlier, but you were sleeping. She told me that she wanted you to present on the company's behalf, since Queen Consolidated is hosting and all. They'll have a teleprompter for you, so it should be easy. I told her sure. You're okay with that right? "

Oliver snapped his head up. "Um, yeah. Sure."

Laurel frowned at him. "What's going on with you? It's like you're not even here," she teased.

"Just tired I guess," Oliver replied.

Laurel stood up and walked over to him.

"Well… maybe I can do something to help you relax a bit…"

Bending over, she covered his lips with hers. Her kiss was soft, languid, familiar. They fit together like old puzzle pieces, well acquainted with one another's habit. And yet somehow his stomach still twinged with unease.

He pulled away after a moment, feigning that he needed to go get something done at the office. Laurel doesn't say anything, but he can tell that she wasn't buying it. She's used to looking at lying criminals in the face after all.

If they were old puzzle pieces then he was finding that his edges were being worn away so that their shape didn't quite fit correctly anymore. He was feeling the gaps form between him and Laurel. They were finally together, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was a stranger to him and he was a stranger to her.

Is it possible to have loved someone and not truly know them at all?

xxx

Oliver found himself in a taxi, heading towards downtown. He needed some air, but couldn't think of a place to go to. He had the driver drop him off on a random street corner. The city was bustling with people about, on their way home, on their way to see their loved ones or to meet a friend. It felt good to get lost in the crowd. He never really had time for that before. He had always been too preoccupied with the next mission, the next criminal. Too preoccupied with saving the city that he realized he never really had a chance to truly see it.

He was just about to cross the street when he heard the scream. Across from him someone had just took off with an old lady's purse. The thief was already running. On instinct, Oliver pushed his way through the throng of people, ready to give chase. Before he could even make it, the cops had already arrived and apprehended the criminal. He stopped abruptly in his tracks, watching the police handle the matter.

A television from a nearby store window blasted a pundit commenting on how Starling City's crime rate was down 10% since Walter Steele came into office. The city was doing well on its own in that department. There will always be criminals, but the Arrow didn't exist here because they didn't need him here, he realized.

Oliver suddenly found himself homesick, only he wasn't quite sure where home was now. For a while he debated what to do. He could've called Diggle to pick him up, take him back to his and Laurel's apartment, but he couldn't quite bring himself to. Diggle was his partner, not a chauffeur and Oliver wasn't planning on treating the man as such. Besides, the strange apartment wasn't what he needed right now.

He couldn't go to the Queen mansion either. As happy as he was to know that his father was alive, that his family was whole again, he didn't feel up to pretending he was someone he wasn't with them. Frankly, that was the whole problem, he didn't know who he was anymore.

After wandering for a few more minutes, his feet somehow brought him back to Queen Consolidated. It was past work hours now and yet, he had a hunch that there'd be one office still open.

xxx

Felicity was at her desk, as he had expected of her. Various windows were running at once on her screens, her fingers moving fast as it typed various codes Oliver didn't understand. She was chewing on her red pen the way she often times would when she was concentrating. In a world where he recognized nothing, it was a relief that he still knew her so well, could almost predict her next movements.

He didn't think it was possible before to miss someone when they are sitting right there in front of him, but at the moment, watching Felicity that was exactly how he felt.

"Working overtime?"

Felicity replied without looking up. "Yeah. My boss should give me a raise."

Oliver chuckled. "Yeah, I'll write myself a memo about that."

When she did swiveled around in her chair to face him her eyes were wide with recognition. "Mr. Queen!" She dropped the red pen from her mouth.

He hated the way she called him that. It felt so distant, so formal. "No, Mr. Queen's my father."

"Of course. But Mr. Queen isn't here, well not _you_, Mr. Queen, your father Mr. Queen. So that would leave only you, Mr. Queen, standing right here… in front of me… listening to me babble..."

She made him laugh and he realized that people, not places, cured homesickness.

"Just call me Oliver," he said, sparing her any more rambling.

"Right! Mr- I mean, Oliver…" she said his name quickly, as if she wasn't used to the weight of it on her tongue. "Is there something you need? You know it's after hours right? I mean, I'm sure you know. You own the building. Of course you know what the hours are, I didn't mean to be presumptuous or anything," Felicity managed to stop herself this time. She took a deep breath and said simply, "What can I do to help you?"

Oliver was at a loss for what to say. He never used to need a reason to see Felicity before. They were partners. She didn't even need to ask him what he needed, she _knew_.

"I… um… need some help with my laptop," he said lamely.

"Oh?" Felicity pushed up her glasses with one hand. "Let me see it."

"I don't… have it with me."

"Oh…"

There was an awkward silence after that.

She raised her eyebrow at him and he fought against the surge of disappointment rising in him. He wanted to grip her by the shoulders, shake her and tell her that this was wrong, all _wrong_. That they shouldn't be here. That he's found himself trapped in some parallel universe and that they should be in the Foundry with Diggle, watching over the city, keeping it safe. Except the Foundry doesn't exist and his own best friends thinks he's a stranger and if he started saying crazy things like that to her he'd most likely end up with a restraining order.

"I, uh, just wanted to say thank you… again. For your help with my presentation."

"Thank you for thanking me… again. Even though it was like… weeks ago. It's rather nice to know that you are, you know, still thankful and everything."

Oliver frowned. "Wait, weeks?"

"Yeah."

"No, that was just this morning."

Now it was Felicity's turn to frown at him. "No… it was like on the 8th and that was two weeks ago."

"That can't be… I was just…" Oliver trailed off.

How could it be weeks? He'd only woken up... Thinking back, he couldn't remember how long ago it was since he first woke up and everything was changed. He couldn't remember how he got to Verdant earlier that day. One minute he was getting ready to present to the board and the next he was in front of Verdant and then he was with Laurel and everything else… had an entire week gone by without him knowing?

Felicity had pulled up her calendar on her phone and was showing it to him. "See? Two weeks ago."

Oliver blinked. Somehow all the numbers and letters on the calendar were scrambled nonsensically.

"I think there's something wrong with your screen," he said, pointing out the jumbled letters.

Felicity frowned at him, "No, it's fine. See?"

But he _couldn't_ see. He couldn't make out a single thing. Sudden vertigo hit him and he felt unsteady on his feet.

"Oliver, are you okay?" Felicity asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I'm not sure really…"

He rubbed his eyes and took a glance at Felicity's computer monitor. At first he had thought he merely didn't understand her complex coding, but now he realized, he couldn't read a single thing. He looked down at the paperwork on her desk. Grabbing the files, he flipped through the papers. The letter were all wrong. Some flipped around or upside down. It was like someone had grabbed scrabble pieces and threw them on the floor. Felicity was now regarding him with wide-eyed stare.

A pounding was beginning in his head. He ran his hands over his face. There was spots appearing in his vision, fragments of the night of the warehouse was bombed appeared beneath his closed eyelids.

"Oliver?" Felicity sounded more panicked now.

The images were coming fast, blurry. His arms and legs suddenly felt like lead. He felt down to one knee and couldn't seem to get himself back up. He felt paralyzed. It felt like there was a boulder on top of lungs, his breathing felt so shallow.

"Oliver!" Felicity had gotten up out of her seat and was beside him. She was gripping his shoulders.

As he crouched there with Felicity's hand on his shoulders, the headache began to subside. Slowly, he could feel his legs and arms again. The weight on his chest lifting. He looked up at her, brow wet with sweat, and tried to smile reassuringly.

"We need to call you some help-"

Oliver grabbed her hand before she could get up.

"No, no… don't call anyone. I'm starting to feel better."

She didn't look convinced. He didn't blame her, he didn't believe himself either.

"Felicity… I think I need your help."

He glanced around the room, at the posters on the walls, the files and paperwork on the desk, and then back at her.

"I can't seem to read a single thing."

xxx

In another world, machines whirled around a slumbering Oliver Queen as men in clinical masks took his vitals and increased his sedation. Two figures eclipsed in shadow watched on from behind a glass wall.

FELICITY

The day passed in a whirl. After that horrendous board meeting all Felicity wanted to do was fall into bed. Maybe when she woke up all of this would have been a dream. It was a silly wish and she disregarded it immediately.

Instead of driving back home, Felicity once again found herself sitting in front of her computer in the Foundry. Verdant has been closed for days and so the place was as silent as a grave yard. It made all of her thoughts all the more vocal.

After trying yet another algorithm that failed to produce any results Felicity laid her head down on the desk. Letting the hum of her computers lull her to sleep. _It's been a wild goose chase from the start_, she thought.

_Chase. Chase. Chase._

What had Simon Lacroix said? That they had been too busy _chasing _for a solution? Suddenly, it was like a light bulb went off.

Felicity immediately sat up, adjusted her glasses, and woke up her computer. It was so simple! She realized she'd been too busy trying to trace the dummy alert when she should have searched _internally _to see what addresses the Foundry's system allowed access instead and work backwards from there.

Her fingers flew across the keys. She still needed to comb through all the legitimate accesses, the ones that were hers, Diggle's or Oliver's. She first narrowed it down by date then by user. It was proving hard than she thought. She'd have to code something to find the proverbial needle in the cyber haystack. She spent hours, way past into the morning working on her codes. Finally, after an entirely sleepless night, all she had to do was hit execute. Her finger hovered over the enter key, her heart pounding in her chest. She whispered a prayer, closed her eyes, and hit enter.

The screen lit up with a single IP address.

Felicity leaned back into her seat. "Got cha."


	3. Act I: Slumber - Part III

**A/N: **Get ready for some real shit to go down this chapter. ;)

**Part III: **

OLIVER

"It's dyslexia," Felicity said simply as Oliver made his way towards her, coffee in hand.

He'd been coming to Felicity for help under the pretense of computer troubleshooting for the past few weeks.

"Here," Oliver said, extending the coffee out to her.

"Thanks," Felicity replied, taking the proffered drink from his hands. Their fingers brushed slightly at the contact and Oliver fought against the surging in his stomach he felt from her touch. It was like a short order cook had taken up residence and was flipping flapjacks in there. If he didn't have other things to worry about, like the fact that he's in some alternate dimension, can't seem to keep track of time, and has lost his ability to read, he'd be more concerned.

She took a cautious sip of her drink and smiled. "How did you know how I took my coffee?"

His heart sped up. "Lucky guess, I suppose," he lied.

She smiled and turned in her chair to look at her computer screen again. "So, I did some digging and I think, from the symptoms you described, you have a sudden onset of adult dyslexia. It may be something that you've always had at some degree, but never really noticed before. Or… it could be surface dyslexia from some kind of trauma to the head. This may also explain your headaches." Turning to him she asked, "Have you experienced any kind of blunt head injury recently?"

_Would surviving a warehouse bombing count,_ Oliver thought to himself. He scrambled for something to say, but couldn't think of anything. Somehow the words, "I once went spelunking," came out of his mouth.

"Okay…" Felicity drew out the word, her tone riddled with disbelief. She waited for him to say more, but when he didn't she sighed. "Look, Oliver… as nice as it is to spend all this time with you, you know in a totally platonic, non-romantic kind of way," she said, speaking quickly. "I… I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm not a medical professional. I'm not qualified for this. I don't know how I can help you-"

Oliver grabbed her hands. "You _are _qualified. You're the most qualified person I know."

"I don't…"

"Please, Felicity. You're the only one I trust. I… I can't let my family know about this yet."

"I just don't understand," Felicity began, "why are you keeping this from your family? They'd want to help you, Oliver."

"I just… can't. Please, Felicity. Just help me get through this charity ball tonight at least."

She looked at him doubtfully, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Okay," she said finally. Turning back to her desk, she pulled out a drawer and withdrew two earpieces. She handed one set to him. "Here. Since Queen Consolidated is hosting, all the employees are invited too. Put this earpiece on before you get on stage. I'll read what the teleprompter says and you can just repeat what I say. Simple enough?"

"Yes," he said, taking his earpiece from her. "Thank you."

Felicity exhaled a loud sigh. "I don't know why… but somehow I have this urge to help you. Isn't that strange?"

Oliver smiled as he got up. "Not at all."

She stared at him for a moment, biting on her bottom lip again.

"What?"

"Can I just ask you one question and actually get an answer?"

Oliver sighed, but nodded. "I'll try…"

Felicity gave him a pointed look, but continued anyways. "Why do you always look so unhappy?"

Oliver blinked at her, opened his mouth to protest, to deny, but ended up shaking his head. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda…" Felicity admitted with a cringe.

"It's just that…" Oliver didn't know where to begin. And then he started and couldn't seem to stop. "Lately, I just feel like… like there's something missing in my life. Like I'm supposed to _be _someone, doing something important, and I'm not. I feel like the world doesn't need me and it's a selfish thing to say, but I want to feel needed. To have a purpose. Queen Consolidated is great, but it's my father's work, not mine. I always just thought I'd be able to touch more lives, instead all I'm doing is wearing fancy suits, doing paperwork, smiling for the cameras, and attending parties."

When Oliver saw Felicity's eyebrows knit together he felt like an idiot and ran his hand over his face.

"Sorry, I must come across as extremely privileged."

"No," Felicity said shaking her head. "Well… _maybe_," she amended with a crooked smile. "But if you feel that way… make a change, Oliver. If you want to help people, then do it. Start something. You're one of the few people who have the power and money to do so. If anyone can make a change it is you."

Oliver stared at her for a moment, a small smile slowly curling on his lips.

"But then again that's just my two cents. I mean, some people tell me I'm wise beyond my years, but..." she said slyly, twirling a little in her chair, "I'm just an IT girl."

"You're not just an IT girl."

"Yes, I'm _the _IT girl."

Oliver smiled and Felicity smiled back at him. They stayed that way for a while and Oliver thought to himself, he wouldn't mind this world so long as Felicity was in it.

FELICITY

Diggle was shifting from his left foot to his right foot for the hundredth time. It was driving Felicity crazy.

"Digg, would you stop fidgeting please? You're making me nervous."

"Damn right you should be nervous. I don't like you being out in the field with me, Felicity. Especially when Oliver not here," Diggle replied tersely, shaking his head.

"Well that's too bad. You need me to help you get in anyway."

Felicity glanced down at her tablet to confirm the address. _William Tockman._ It had taken Felicity days to crack the encrypted IP address to figure out who exactly it came from. Now they had a name and were one step closer to finding Oliver. Felicity exhaled a breath she was holding. For all they know, he could be inside that building right this minute. Her heart was pounding so hard she was afraid Diggle would hear it. The man had grumbled about her being there enough as it is.

"Pretty fancy looking place… so what's the plan, blondie?"

Felicity smiled at him, "Wait here for my signal," and then approached the gate on her own.

She hit the button for the buzzer.

"Yes?" a voice called out through the speaker.

"Hi," Felicity said. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm supposed to be meeting my friend Erin in B23, but she's not home yet. She gave me a key earlier and said I could wait in her room, only she forgot to tell me the building had a gate. And as luck would have it, my phone is dead," Felicity held up her phone to the security camera for emphasis. "So I can't text her for the code. Do you mind just letting me in?"

After a few seconds the door buzzed open.

"Thanks so much!" Felicity shouted into the speaker.

Once she was in she took out her tablet and with a few quick swipes, disabled the security cameras in the hallways by setting a loop. Then she went and opened the door for Diggle.

"I could've done that," Diggle quipped.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, maybe not the cute peppy blonde thing or all that flirting-"

"I was not flirting," Felicity protested under her breath.

"You do that school eye stare thing like you do with Oliver."

"I do… I don't-"Felicity spluttered until Diggle laughed. Then she simply hit him in the arm.

Diggle moved past her, still chuckling. She followed close behind.

William Tockman was registered on the 8th floor. The wait in the elevator was excruciating and Felicity felt a thrumming in her veins from the anticipation.

Finally they reached it. Tockman's door, unlike the others, was operated with a keycard, but Felicity had already anticipated this. After a few taps on her tablet and a swipe of her dummy card, they were in.

Diggle pushed her aside as the door clicked open and took the first step into the room. The first thing they noticed was the strong astringent smell of alcohol and the loud ticking of clocks. There were clock everywhere, in every room, of all shapes and sizes.

"Is it just me or does this place reeks of American Psycho?" Felicity hissed under her breath. Everything was minimalist, white and glass. Made even eerier by the ticking clocks.

They made their way down the hall towards a large room made to look like a luxurious hospital room. Medical machines beeped and hissed, yet another clock ticked in the background. In the center of it all was a single hospital bed, slightly obscured by a semi-translucent curtain. From their vantage point, they could make out a figure lying on it, but the curtain and a respirator concealed the patient's face.

"_Oliver_," Felicity whispered. She turned to Diggle who nodded. They both swallowed the lumps in their throat.

Felicity glanced down at her tablet once more. There were no heat signatures nearby except for theirs and the patient's.

They cautiously made their way to the center, stopping just before the bed.

Diggle and Felicity glanced at one another before Diggle moved forward, extending his hand to pull back the curtain. They were both holding their breaths.

_This feels too easy_, Felicity thought to herself moments before the curtain parted.

She had a second to register that the person lying on the hospital bed was _not _Oliver before a hand covered her mouth.

OLIVER

Oliver spotted Laurel and Tommy across the room. They were standing by the bar, laughing, clinking glasses. They looked so natural, so vibrant, so alive. From where he stood they looked more like a couple than he and Laurel did. Guilt ate away at him. Tommy had loved Laurel; she was the reason why he went back into that crumbling building. It didn't feel right that Tommy was standing there, so happy and alive, and not with Laurel, not in love with Laurel the way Oliver knew he should be… would be if he had chance. It felt like he was betraying his best friend again. _It's because of me_, Oliver thought.

He looked at his best friend and his girlfriend and he felt like there wasn't any place for him to fit in with them.

It was Laurel who spotted him, smiled, and waved him over. He went over to them.

"Ready for your speech, man?" Tommy passed him a drink. Oliver downed it in one gulp. Felicity still hadn't arrived yet and it was making him nervous.

"I guess so," Tommy chortled.

"I think I need another one," Oliver said, leaning over the bar to wave down the bartender. Laurel put a hand on his arm.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked.

"Yeah, just something to help me loosen up a little," Oliver replied with a smile. After another drink, he checked his watch. He was starting to get better at keeping track of his time though occasionally he would blink and be somewhere he didn't remember being before.

Felicity was late. For as long as he's known her, Felicity has never been this late before. She was almost obsessively punctual. It made him worried. The last time Felicity had been late it had been because of a mission and he couldn't help but allow his thoughts to wander into dark scenarios.

His mother smiled at him from across the room. He swallowed another gulp of his drink to assuage his nerves.

"Might want to slow down there, buddy," Tommy cautioned him.

"Oliver, are you alright?" It feels like somebody is always asking him this lately.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Nervous I suppose."

"You've done this like a million times," Tommy laughed.

Oliver looked up from his drink and his eyes met Felicity's from across the room. He felt his lungs extinguishing all the breath they were holding. His heart was hammering, but he attributed it to the tequila he just downed.

"Will you guys excuse me for a second?" He handed Tommy his half-finished drink and made his way towards Felicity.

Laurel and Tommy looked on as he wove through the crowd.

"I've seen that girl before. She works in the IT department right?" Tommy said to Laurel.

"Yeah…" Laurel replied carefully, watching Oliver's face light up as he reached Felicity. "Oliver's laptop seems to be malfunctioning an awful lot lately, too."

Tommy placed his hand over Laurel's and squeezes it once. Together, they watched as Oliver reached Felicity on the other side of the room.

xxx

"Sorry I'm late," Felicity said, smiling slightly. She reached up to adjust her glasses, momentarily forgetting that she had her contacts on for the night, and retreated her fingers when they brushed air. "My taxi blew a tire and it took forever to get another one."

Oliver didn't say anything, just stared at her.

"What's with your face?" Felicity said with a slight laugh. Only she would phrase "are you okay" in such a blunt fashion. It earned a smile from him.

"I was just a little worried about you."

"You were?" Felicity's eyebrows knitted together, but she was still smiling. "Whatever for? The Glades are perfectly safe."

Oliver breathed a single laugh. "Yeah, yeah… of course it is."

"Oh! Before I forget," Felicity reached into her purse and pulled out a rabbit's foot. "I know it's silly… but this was my good luck charm all throughout MIT. It got me through all my exams, through my job interviews… I don't know. I just thought you might want some luck… I don't know… It's silly, maybe you don't want it."

Oliver grabbed her hand before she had a chance to tuck the rabbit's foot away.

"No," Oliver said. "It's not. Thank you, Felicity."

His hand probably lingered on hers a beat too long, but it felt right. Oliver lightly squeezed the lucky charm in his fist.

"Well… this is just a loan," Felicity said. "So, don't get too attached. I'll want it back at the end of the evening."

Oliver smiled, "Yes, ma'am."

They are interrupted when a voice called out, "Felicity Smoak!"

Oliver turned just in time to see Mayor Steele approach them, wide grin on his face. He walked right up to Felicity and pulled her into a hug. When they parted Felicity was blushing. Oliver shot her a raised eyebrow.

Walter turned towards Oliver and extended his hand. "Pardon my rudeness, Mr. Queen."

Oliver shook his head and took the other man's hand. "Not a problem, Mr. Mayor. You two know one another?"

"Why yes, Felicity used to be an intern when I was CEO at the Starling National Bank. She was an incredibly talented employee. We were very sorry that she left, but of course it was for greener pastures."

"That was like a million years ago," Felicity interjected. "And if I recall, you didn't stay with the bank for much longer than I did."

"Yes, well, the point is this young lady has a remarkable mind. Alas, you were always tinkering with those computers and things. She has genius for it really, but I should've known the business world was not meant for you. She works for you now?"

"Yes, she's my Girl Wednesday," Oliver replied.

Felicity cleared her throat and corrected him, "It's _Friday_."

Walter chuckled. "Well, you're lucky to have her. I'd steal her if I could," Walter teased. "Anyways, Mr. Queen, it was so nice to see you. I must thank your mother for playing host. Let's schedule lunch for some time?"

"Will do, Mr. Mayor."

"Please, call me Walter."

Oliver nodded, "Only if you call me, Oliver."

"Mr. Queen is his father you see," Felicity pointed out.

Oliver grinned at her and she beamed back. Walter glanced back and forth between the two of them before smiling. "Oliver, then. I'm sure you two have things to get back to. I'll see you both again before the end of the night, until then I shall go make my rounds."

With a final shake with Oliver and a hug for Felicity, Walter took his leave. They both watched as Starling City's mayor disappeared into the crowd.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" Felicity said, smiling wide. "He's single handedly changed this city. I remember when the Glades used to be a complete slum, crime rate going through the roof. Walter gave up a pretty cushy job to roll in the mud with the likes of dirty politicians. He wasn't taking any of that nonsense anymore. And he really cleaned up the streets, fired all the crooked cops. Really went gangbuster on the drug lords and other scum. It's amazing."

Oliver watched Felicity. When she noticed she blushed slightly.

"What?" She alternated between glancing at him and away.

"You almost sound like you have a crush on him," Oliver said. It was meant to be a joke, but when Felicity flustered, Oliver felt his stomach flip.

"Don't be ridiculous," Felicity admonished. After composing herself, she said, "I just admire all that he had personally sacrificed to make this city a better place. It kind of makes him a hero, don't you think?"

Oliver studied her for a while, unsure what to make of the bubbling in his stomach, the trembling in his hands. He suddenly noticed just how pink her lips were. How soft they looked and how her glasses were balanced adorably crookedly on her nose.

The lights flashed twice, startling him out of his thoughts. That was his cue. Felicity brushed her hair behind her ear, revealing the earpiece.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he said, inhaling deeply.

She nodded, placing her hand on his for a quick second before she left him to go position herself by the teleprompter. His hand tingled from where she had laid her palm. He clenched his hand into a fist and made his way towards the front of the room. Eyes followed him as he did.

Oliver stepped up to the stage to the sound of clapping. Being up there, the lights felt brighter than usual.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Oliver Queen."

He blinked against the brightness, feeling unusually disoriented. Glancing over to where the teleprompter was, he spotted Felicity who smiled at him.

"You can do this," her voice whispered in his ear. A beat later she said, "Don't say that. I'm just… wishing you luck." It made him smile and suddenly his feet felt steadier on the ground.

As the unreadable words on the teleprompter rolled, Felicity began to dictate to him. Her voice calming throughout.

The script was simple, detailing the bravery of the city's police force and firefighters. Thanking them for their hard work and how Queen Consolidated is proud to be headquartered in such a great city.

Halfway through Oliver realized just how hollow his words sounded. They were just pretty scripted things that eased the minds of wealthy and powerful in the room, making them think that they've done their job. He's been complicit, he realized, with this attitude of entitlement. Water Steele may have cleaned up the streets, but looking into the crowd, Oliver saw the faces of villains that had once been on his father's list. They were still out there causing damage and he realized then that Walter, alone, will not be able to change this city.

He ignored what Felicity dictated to him next.

"A good friend of mine pointed out to me the other day that I am one of the privileged and lucky few who can make a difference in this city. I've been very blessed to have been born to a wonderful mother and father, blessed enough to be born a Queen."

"Oliver, that wasn't on the teleprompter," she hissed in his ear. He ignored her.

"But not everyone is so lucky. Our city, thanks to the remarkable efforts of our mayor, Walter Steele, has improved in many areas. But that does not mean we can simply step back and rest. The corrupt are always out there and we must be vigilant in our efforts to better the city, not just for the rich, but for all."

He paused for second, catching his mother's startled face in the audience. Her surprise then was nothing compared to her expression when he said next, "This is why tonight I am personally donating one million dollars to the city."

The entire room gasped audibly. Oliver could hear Felicity swearing under her breath through the earpiece.

"And I want to use this opportunity to announce that I will be relinquishing my position as CEO at Queen Consolidated in order to start my own charitable foundation."

His father was definitely looking piqued now as well. The chattering in the crowd grew. Reporters on the scene were already shouting questions at him, clamoring over one another to get a word in.

"A press conference will be made in due time, but until then I hope that my actions may inspire you all to donate and do your part. To Starling City!"

He raised his glass and the crowd became raucous with applause. Despite the glare of camera flashes, Oliver didn't miss the wary glances his friends and family made. He clenched his jaw once before plastering a smile on his face and making his way towards them.

He was just about to step off the stage when suddenly all the lights went out. The speakers screeched with feedback. When they came back on slow clapping echoed through stereo.

"That was a great speech, Mr. Queen. So... _inspiring_."

A spotlight appeared across the room. Oliver followed it to find Count Vertigo, smug smile tugging on his lips, walking slowly towards the center of the room. A handful of armed men followed him.

"Seeing as you are feeling so generous today, why don't you start by donating to some of those in need, like _me_?"

The Count's men started shoving their way through the crowd. When met with resistance they fired into the air. Screams rang through the room as people ducked and covered their heads.

"Empty your pockets!" the thugs shouted. "Now!"

Oliver's heart hammered in his chest. He took a step forward, but the Count pointed a gun at him.

"Ah, ah, ah…" the Count warned, waggling his finger. "Don't try to be a hero, Mr. Queen. We're just looking to redistribute a bit of the wealth to those less fortunate. You understand, don't you?"

Before Oliver could answer the Count had caught sight of Walter Steele.

"Oh, looky what we have here. Our very own mayor!"

The Count grabbed Walter by the neck, dragging him towards center of the room.

"Let him go!" Oliver roared taking a step forward.

The Count clucked his tongue and presses a gun against Walter's head, stopping Oliver midstep. "What did I say about being a hero, Mr. Queen? You wouldn't want to be responsible for getting the mayor killed would you?"

Oliver clenched his fists at his side, but didn't move a muscle.

With Oliver subdued, the Count turned his attention back towards Walter. "Now you, you have been a thorn in my side, Mr. Mayor."

"Then take me if you want, but leave the rest of these people alone," Walter bit out.

The Count laughed. It was a horrible sounding laugh and it ricocheted off the walls.

"Such a martyr you are. Perhaps I should grant your wish," the Count taunted. He shoved Walter on the floor and demanded the man put his hand behind his head.

Oliver made another move forward, but this time one of the Count's men was by his side, pressing the barrel of his gun into Oliver's back.

"Oliver, don't," Walter called.

Behind Walter, Oliver could see his family huddled in a corner. Thea's eyes were red and teary. She was shaking her head at him.

The situation was bad. He really regretted giving Diggle the night off tonight. From the corner of his eyes, Oliver noticed movement. Turning slightly he noticed Felicity. She'd been by the teleprompter, out of the general view so none of the criminals had seen her yet. He watched as she crept stealthily towards the sound controls.

"Oliver? Oliver, if I can get to the sound controls, I can distract them. That should give Walter enough time to get away."

Oliver heart pounded. "This isn't a good idea." His words were for Felicity, but it was the Count who answered him.

"Can somebody shut Mr. Queen up?" The Count's thug shoved Oliver and he fell down to his knees hard. There'd be bruising for sure tomorrow.

Felicity whispered, "We're in a room full of cops and trained firefighters. They'll know how to fight back. We just need an element of surprise to even the playing field."

Oliver slyly glanced around the room and saw several officers in their tuxes, including one Detective Quentin Lance, exchange meaningful looks with one another. Oliver didn't bother arguing with her. She was going to do this no matter what he did. The best he could do was help distract the Count until she was able to do what she planned.

"Why don't you just take the money and go," Oliver growled at the Count.

The Count rolled his eyes and moved his gun towards Oliver. "I thought I told you to shut up. Perhaps a bullet in your face will teach you to listen the first time"

Oliver held his breath as Felicity reached the control panel. It was just that moment that the Count noticed her movement.

The Count whirled around towards Felicity. "And what do you think you're doing, little girl?" he screeched. He cocked his gun, finger on the trigger when Oliver slammed his elbow into the Count's man and then lunged. He managed to knock the Count's hand upwards so the shot hit a chandelier instead. It came crashing down, narrowly missing him and Walter before Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" blasted through the ballroom's speakers at top volume.

When the Count's thugs inevitably threw up their hands to cover their ears, the attending officers and firefighters tackled them to the floor.

It was chaos everywhere. Screaming and gunshots. Oliver coughed from the dust and shook crystal debris off himself in time to see the Count making a beeline for the exit, dragging Felicity out with him.

Oliver made a mad dash after him despite Laurel screaming his name. His pulse racing. The Count noticed him giving chase and spun around.

"Stop right there, Mr. Queen," the Count shouted. He was nearly at the door, one hand wound tightly around Felicity's ponytail. He yanked on it, earning a yelp and whimper from Felicity.

"Let her go," Oliver growled.

"I don't think so. She's my insurance for getting out of here," the Count laughed. "As for you…" He lifted up his gun, ready to shoot Oliver at point blank.

Oliver ducked, but before the Count even could make the shot, an arrow flew through the window, striking the Count in the hand, splattering blood all over Oliver's white shirt. Shattered glass flew everywhere as a hooded shadow burst through the window. Flying through the air the dark figure kicked the Count squarely in the face, knocking him backwards and forcing him to release Felicity from his grasp.

Oliver was immediately by Felicity's side. He pressed his hands against her face.

"Are you okay?"

Felicity nodded fervently, trembling.

Oliver looked up and his eyes met those of the hooded vigilante. Before Oliver has time to process the fact that he was staring at the Arrow, his doppelganger jumped back through the window where he came from.

Oliver immediately got up and threw himself against the doors, bursting out into the open air. All he could hear was the rush of his blood in his ears. _How could this be? How could the Arrow exist when..._

He searched the night sky until he found the green hooded figure, standing at the precipice of a nearby building, backlit by the moon.

"Who are you?" Oliver demanded.

The hood vigilante turned around instead of answering. Oliver ran towards him, but he had jumped onto the next building, already scaling the rooftops. Oliver's eyes followed the retreating green leathered silhouette until it disappeared beyond the horizon.

FELICITY

It had been Diggle's hand over her mouth. He was dragging her quickly backwards into a closet just seconds before footsteps announced that they had company.

"Where the hell have you been?" a male voice shouted. Felicity jumped at the sound of a door slamming. Diggle kept one of his hands over her mouth and rubbed her arm with his other to soothe her.

"My daughter's condition is worsening!"

They could see two dark figures enter the room though they couldn't make out their faces.

"We had a deal. I did my part and sent the Arrow that fake alert like you wanted. Now I want the lungs for my daughter."

Neither of them could make out who was speaking through the closet door's blinds, but they could guess that it was William Tockman.

"Yes, we did promise a matchable pair of lungs for your daughter, Mr. Tockman," the other figure said. "I'm sorry that we've been late about the delivering. I'll amend that now."

Sudden gunshots made Felicity flinch violently. If it weren't for Diggle's hand still over her mouth she would've screamed.

They watched as Tockman tried to grab at the man's lapels, but was shoved off. Tockman's body hit the floor with a thud, blood spilling from his stomach. For a terrifying second, as Tockman turned his head, mouth dribbling with pink saliva, his and Felicity's eyes met through the cracks.

"Don't worry, I've only shot your stomach." The other man pushed the toe of his boot into Tockman's abdomen, making Tockman scream. Felicity shivered at the sound. It was inhuman. "There, you see, Mr. Tockman? We've delivered."

The other man laughed darkly and removed his boot. Without wasting any more time he turned and left, leaving Tockman bleeding out on the floor.

Felicity and Diggle waited several minutes after the footsteps have retreated and they heard the front door slam shut before they rushed out the closet.

Felicity scrambled towards the injured Tockman.

"Diggle, grab me a towel, quick!" Felicity pressed her hands against Tockman's wound. "We gotta put pressure on this."

Tockman stared at her, his eyes wide with what Felicity couldn't fathom, but it looked like recognition.

"You're going to be okay," Felicity said firmly. Tockman reached for her face, smearing blood over her cheek. "You're going to be okay because you're the only clue we have to finding Oliver and I need you to be okay!"

Tockman opened his mouth a few times, but only gurgled on his own blood. Diggle was back with towel in hand. Felicity grabbed it from him and pressed it against Tockman's wound. It was quickly soaked through.

"He's bleeding too much, Felicity."

Tockman gurgled again, this time almost making out a word. "Si-...ss…" He couldn't finish and ended up coughing instead.

"Come on, come on!" Felicity pleaded, but even she knew it was too late. "Please, please just tell us anything you can. Who hired you? Why did they take the Arrow?"

Tockman merely gaped at her, still that inscrutable expression. He tried to speak again, but she could feel his body already slackening.

"No," she whispered as he fell limp, eyes wide open, but staring at nothing at all. "No."

Just as she blinked back a tear, Tockman's fist fell open to reveal an employee badge. _Allied Snows_.

The sound of clocks ticking seemed to echo, vibrating right down to Felicity's very bone. She turned around in time to see Tockman's daughter staring at her from her hospital bed, eyes wide with horror.


	4. Act I: Slumber - Part IV

**A/N:** This story has definitely become more of an alternate season 2… but I'm still stealing some canon. For the purposes of this fic, some of the things that have happened up to S02x5 are still in play, with the exception of Isabel Rochev not being in the picture. At least not yet… I hope you enjoy it. I'm laying the groundwork for a lot of things coming up soon!

**PART IV**

OLIVER

Oliver handed Felicity a cup of coffee. The police had just finished taking their statements.

She took it from him with quivering hands and took a sip, shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She closed her eyes blissfully. "How do you always manage to get my coffee perfectly?" She was already taking another sip.

Oliver just smiled. "That was really brave what you did there. You saved a lot of people."

Felicity was about to protest when Detective Lance approached them. "Seriously, Ms. Smoak. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten the upper hand on those crooks." The detective tipped his hat to her and she blushed.

"I think we're all done here. I know it's been a long night so you two should go on back home. Your families are probably worried. I know Laurel is definitely concerned about you, Oliver."

Oliver looked down guiltily. He had heard Laurel calling after him, but knowing that the Count had Felicity in his grasp… Oliver shook his head. "Yeah…" he replied lamely.

Just as the detective turned to go, Oliver grabbed the man's elbow.

"Wait, Detective Lance."

The Detective raised his eyebrow at him. "Why so formal suddenly, Oliver? You know you can always call me, Quentin."

Oliver swallowed his shock. It was strange to see the detective so amiable towards him.

"Um… yeah, Quentin," the name felt unfamiliar and strange on his tongue. "Who was that hooded guy in there? The one that took out the Count?"

The detective frowned at him. "Why, that was the Hood. If you ask me? He's part of the reason why crime rates have gone down so much. He's been all over the newspaper lately. Don't you read?"

Oliver winced. "No… not so much lately."

The detective nodded, "Yeah, well, perhaps you should get on that then. Have a good night, both of you."

"Thank you," Felicity called out to Detective Lance's retreating back.

Oliver turned back to her. Felicity had sloughed off the blanket that was draped around her shoulders.

"He's right, it's been a long night," Felicity said. As soon as she stood she stumbled and Oliver caught her.

"Whoa there. You okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little weak in the knees, I suppose," she said smiling a smile that didn't reach her eyes. His arm was still around her waist. She tried to stand again and wobbled.

Oliver frowned, hugging her closer to his chest. "You sure you're okay? Let me take you home."

"No, no. I'm fine."

"It's no trouble. Let me give you a ride."

Still Felicity shook her head, protesting.

Oliver felt insistent. "I _want _to give you a ride, Felicity." When she quirked her brow at him it was his turn to fluster and he quickly amended, "Home. A ride home."

He noticed then how their bodies were still pressed together and he gently let her go, feeling his face warm a little.

"You know what I mean," he said much to his chagrin. Her habits were rubbing off on him.

Felicity laughed. After all that had happened, it was a nice thing to hear, despite the fact that it was at his expense.

"Oliver Queen, I've never seen you blush before," she teased, still laughing. She reached up to try and pinch his cheeks.

"Stop it," he playfully growled. His grin diminished the effect.

She reflexively reached for her glasses again, but pulled them away when she remembered she had on contacts. "As much as I'd enjoy a ride from you… the car ride I mean, not the er… other thing. Not that I don't think you'd be bad at it or anything…"

She smiled, closing her eyes for a second. He watched her regroup and collect herself and couldn't' help smiling himself.

"I'm okay. I can get home on my own. Besides my apartment is really out of the way."

"It'll be no trouble," he pressed. He didn't want to admit that after all that happened, he didn't want her out of his sight.

Felicity opened her mouth to say something, but quickly changed her mind.

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "I'm a little too tired to argue with you anyways."

"Good, you should just do whatever I tell you to," Oliver joked.

"As if," Felicity scoffed.

Across the street Laurel watched as Oliver led Felicity to his car, tucked her into the passenger seat before he got in himself, and drove away.

FELICITY

Felicity was in shock. She didn't even know how Diggle had gotten them out of the apartment and back to the Foundry. All she knew was that one minute she was staring into Tockman's daughter's terrified eyes and the next… she was here. Back in front of her computers, clutching the employee badge Tockman had revealed in her fist.

Diggle appeared by her side with a mug.

"Drink it."

Felicity did as she was told, wincing at the taste. Diggle never did know how to make her coffee right, but she appreciated the gesture anyways.

"I don't remember getting here," she told him.

Diggle crossed his arms, "It must have been the shock. You were pretty stunned. I left the cops an anonymous tip. They should be there by now to inspect Tockman's body."

Felicity nodded numbly. "What about Tockman's daughter? What will happen to her?"

Diggle sighed. "The system will take care of her."

Felicity recalled the sheer terror in the younger girl's face. "She saw us… she saw her father…" Felicity shook her head, the image of Tockman bleeding out still scarring the inside of her eyelids.

"We can't do anything about that," Diggle said softly. "I doubt it, but if she identifies us we'll deal with it then…"

Felicity nodded reluctantly. Something about the girl's eyes haunted her.

Slowly, Felicity unclenched her fist. The employee badge was cutting into her palm, it had left angry red indentions in her flesh.

"Allied Snows," Felicity whispered.

"That's the company Simon Lacroix was talking about."

Felicity turned in her seat so she was facing her computer screens. Typing furiously on her keyboard she pulled up all the hits she found for Allied Snows.

"They're a new biomedical company known for their advancement in sleep medicine and anesthesia. They have a headquarters in Gotham and it seems that they want to open up a sleep facility in Starling," she said without looking back at Diggle. Her fingers danced on the keyboard, "I'll have to do some digging, but so far I don't see any dirt on them. Or motive for why they'd be interested in Oliver or the Arrow. If anything, they look freaking pristine. There's even a news article about them doing pro bono work for soldiers with PTSD who can't sleep normally."

Felicity pulled up a photo of a smiling, unassuming, middle aged man with short blonde hair in a lab coat.

"Dr. Jervis Tetch is their founder and head neuroscientist. Judging from this photo, he doesn't look very much like a villain."

Diggle leaned against the table. "The best villains never do."

Felicity nodded, her attention back to typing complicated codes. "I'm going to do some more digging."

Diggle stood up straighter. "You should rest."

Felicity shook her head, "This is the only clue we have."

"And it will still be there in the morning."

"Oliver could be dea-" Felicity choked on the word. She closed her eyes and tried again, this time in a lower tone. "Oliver could be compromised by morning."

"He's already compromised. There's nothing that you do now that can change that. You need to stop running yourself so ragged, Felicity. You just watched a man die!"

Felicity shut her eyes, trying to quell the shudder going through her spine. She could still feel Tockman's blood on her hands, slick and red. So, so red.

Diggle put his hands on Felicity's shoulders and spun her around so that she'd face him instead of the computers. "I need you in top form, Felicity. _Thea_, needs you. We will pick this up in the morning. You need your rest."

"I'm fine." Felicity wanted to argue more, but before she could help herself a yawn escaped her. It earned her an obnoxious _I-told-you-so_ look from Diggle who had crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, alright," she said, relenting.

Diggle smiled a small smile and took her by the arm. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

xxx

Once Felicity got back into her own apartment, she couldn't sleep. She laid in bed for a while, but the ticking of her clock kept her up. It kept reminding her of Tockman and that horrible apartment filled with clocks and of Tockman's daughter and her terrified eyes.

Unable to bare it any longer, Felicity got up and took the batteries out of her beside clock. For a good minute the room was blissfully silent. Until she noticed there was still a faint sound. She tried to ignore it, but found herself getting up again and wandering into her living room. The clock there was digital, but still the sound tormented her.

So, she started with checking all the items on her tabletops, pulling open the drawers in her desk, upturning all her cushions, scanning all the corners. When she succeeded only in upheaving her living room, she moved on to the kitchen. She headed straight for the cabinet where she stowed away her kitchen timer. But when she threw the cabinet doors open, the timer was missing. Convinced that the missing timer was the cause of her auditory annoyance, she started going through all the cabinets, one by one, moving all the dishes, bowls, pots, and pans in her way. She managed somehow to also turn her kitchen upside down. Nothing. And yet, still that sound.

Felicity ran a hand through her hair. She was reaching the end of her rope. She pressed her hands to her eyes, but the ticks continued. With a groan she dragged herself back to bed, passing by the adjacent bathroom on the way.

That's when she realized the sound was coming from the faucet. The _drip drip drip _of the water had mimicked the sound of a clock. With a sigh of relief, she turned it off and went back to bed. Yet even as she closed her eyes and her mind drifted into unconsciousness, still she kept hearing that subtle tick, tick, tick, _tick_.

The clocks haunted her dreams.

OLIVER

Oliver watched his father pace the room. He had expected this. Knew it was coming the moment the words left his mouth, saw the astonished faces of his friends and family. And he went on with it anyway.

"We've been able to stall the press for a few weeks now, in light of everything that had happened with that criminal… but now it's time to face the consequences of your impulsiveness, Oliver."

"It wasn't impulsiveness," Oliver countered.

His father scoffed.

The truth was, Oliver had been thinking about this for a while now. If he wasn't the Arrow… what would he have done? What kind of son would he have been? What kind of person? He's told Laurel once that he couldn't be satisfied with stock holder meetings, PowerPoint presentations, and all the other banality of running a business. He didn't want to be CEO of Queen Consolidated. Not after all he's been through. He needed more.

"Do you have any idea of what you've done?" The fact was, yes, Oliver did have an idea. That didn't stop his father from asking him this same question for the third time.

The elder Queen ran a hand through his silver hair. "You're giving up your place in the company, Ollie! And what are you going to do for capital to start up this little project of yours? It's a nice idea, but hardly practical."

Oliver's jaw twitched, but he held his tongue.

"I have funds. I'll sell my shares if I have to."

"Oliver!" His father was aghast.

"Dad, look," he said. He took a step towards his father, placed his hand on the older man's shoulder. "I know this sounds crazy. I know it does. But you have your legacy…

"Our legacy," his father corrected. "The Queen's legacy!"

Oliver shook his head. "It's not the same. I don't… I don't care about the same things you do. I'm sick to death of being… of being corporate. I just think that it's time I started something of my own. And I want my legacy to be making this city an even better place."

The corner of his father's mouth remained downwards, but there was a softening of his eyes.

"This city is my home and I want to be proud of it. I want to do something I can be proud of _myself _for. Can you understand that?"

Robert Queen stared at him for a long while.

"You're really serious about this?"

"Yes," Oliver said without hesitation.

Robert Queen let out a breath and ran his hand down his face. "It's risky, but I don't think you need me to tell you that," he said grudgingly.

"Does this mean I have your blessing?"

"I have a feeling that even if you didn't, you'd go on and do it anyway."

"You might be right," Oliver grinned.

Robert nodded, a small smile forming on his face for a brief moment before his face turned serious once more. "I hope you at least talked to Laurel about this beforehand."

"Laurel?"

"Well, you two have been together for a long time now. You're even living together. I assumed the natural course of things would be that you two got married. God knows your mother is waiting for it."

"I, um… I…" Oliver stuttered, "Laurel and I… we're not there yet."

A knock on the door saved him from saying any more.

The door opened a crack and Felicity's blonde head poked in. "Mr. Queen? I got a message saying that you wanted to see me?"

"Ms. Smoak? I didn't-" Robert Queen started.

"I asked for her," Oliver interrupted. "Felicity will you join us for a second?"

Felicity hesitated, but stepped forward. "Of course."

She wrung her hands nervously as she made her way towards the two Queens. Oliver beckoned her towards him and so she stopped once she reached his side.

"Dad, I appreciate all of your support, but there's just one more thing I'd like to ask for."

Robert's glance moved from Felicity's confused expression to Oliver's confidant one. "Okay… shoot."

"I'd like to take Ms. Smoak with me when I establish the Oliver Queen Foundation. I want her to head our Technology Department there."

"Wh-what?" Felicity spluttered.

Robert raised his eyebrow at his son. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said gravely.

"Her talents are being squandered in the IT department here. With me she can do some real good. Besides, she was the one to inspire me to embark on this project," Oliver said, putting his arm around Felicity's shoulders.

He knew it was a mistake the moment Felicity's shoulders stiffened and his father shot him a look. "Did she now?"

Robert turned his gaze on Felicity this time.

"I… I… um, I don't actually have a clue what he's talking about, sir. This is the first time I've heard about it."

"I thought so…" The elder Queen smiled, not unkindly, and said, "Ms. Smoak, would you give my son and me a moment please?"

"Of course, sir," Felicity said tacitly, removing Oliver's hand with a bit more force than necessary. Watching her walk away, Oliver realized he'd have to put out more than one fire today.

Once she was gone, Robert turned to his son. "Is something going on between the two of you?" Robert asked, point blank.

"What?" Oliver shook his head. "No, no. That's not it at all."

"I've been hearing that you've been making an awful lot of trips down to the 18th floor lately," Robert began. "You also have a history…"

"I consider Felicity a friend," Oliver answered, a little too quickly. "A _talented _friend, who has not yet been recognized in this company."

"Felicity Smoak is indeed talented," Robert agreed. "But are you sure that's the only reason why you are doing this?"

The question, predictable as it may be, struck a chord with him. Ever since he got here, Felicity had been his anchor. The lightness in all of his confusion and headaches. His helping hand. It was natural that he wanted them to work together right?

"She's just a friend," Oliver repeated. But this time, he didn't sound convincing even to himself.

Robert regarded him for a moment before he turned towards his desk. "If she agrees, then she may go with you."

"Thank you," Oliver said. Just as he was about to turn, Robert called out to him.

"Before you start anything, make sure it's truly what you want, son. And that you're willing to pay the price."

Oliver could read the double entendre in his father's warning.

xxx

Oliver found Felicity standing outside of his office. She had never visited his office before and Oliver recognized from the way she was crossing her arms and the way she tapped her foot that she was not particularly happy with him.

He coughed, announcing himself in his own office. She whirled around at him.

"Oliver Queen! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of trying to promote you," he said simply, making his way towards his desk. "Most people would be flattered." He looked up at her "You know that you're way overqualified for your current position, don't you, Felicity? I was trying-"

"Were you going to say you were trying to be an _asshole_? Because that's what you were."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she ignored him.

"I don't need you to tell me what my value is. You have _no _right. I am perfectly aware of my own talents and skills and I don't need some pompous macho man tell me what they are. And what the hell was with your arm over my shoulder! Who do you think you are anyway?"

He couldn't help himself, he started grinning. Which only infuriated her more. Before she could launch into another tirade he spoke first.

"I'm sorry," he said swiftly, with as much sincerity as he could muster. "And I'm not smiling because I think you're cute when you're angry, even though you kind of are, but because I know you're passionate, Felicity."

He released a breath and stepped toward her so that they were properly face to face.

"I know you will stand your ground and call me out on my bullshit and I think you just demonstrated why I _need _you to be by my side. I want you to be my partner. I am about to embark on a project that I think will change this city for the better. I'm personally invested in this and I need someone I trust, someone who isn't afraid to tell me when I'm wrong."

She still had her arms crossed over her chest, but she wasn't screaming at him anymore at least.

"I want to leave a footprint in this world, and not a carbon one. I want to do some good with all that I have. And I think… I think you're the kind of person who would want to see some good happen in the world too. I can't do this alone."

Felicity exhaled loudly. "It would've helped if you gave me a heads up about all this first."

"Does that mean you're considering it?" He said, hopefully.

She's still kind of glaring at him, but she can see her expression slowly softening at the edges. Taking a step forward her placed his hand on either side of her shoulders.

"I _need _you, Felicity," he said simply, even though he was realizing that there was nothing simple at all about it. He needed her. She was his right hand gal, his anchor, his guiding star. She was…

She caught her lip between her teeth and suddenly he noticed his how close they were. How nice she smelled and how her shoulders seemed to fit perfectly in his palms. He felt a lurch in his stomach, it was a sensation he was growing abnormally familiar with.

His father's word echoed in his head. It was dawning on him, since the night of the charity ball, that Felicity meant a whole lot more to him than he knew. It was something that had been brewing even before he woke up in that strange apartment, before his world got turned upside down. He still didn't know what everything meant, but now, now he had a chance to live a normal life, do things right, be with the people he _loved_.

He opened his mouth, he wasn't sure to say what, but it didn't matter because before he could get anything out a loud clatter sounded and his eyes broke away from Felicity's.

Laurel was standing by the door. There was a puddle of coffee on the ground along with what looked like some Chinese takeout.

"Ms. Lance!" Felicity said, startled by Laurel's sudden appearance.

Laurel ignored her. Laurel's gaze, steely and cold, was meant only for him. "I came to bring you lunch, but I guess I shouldn't have bothered."

Her sharp tone struck him like knives. He dropped his hand from Felicity's shoulders.

Laurel scoffed. "I'm such a moron for thinking that you've changed. I should've known better. God all the signs. All those nights you had to 'work' late… how distant you've become these past few months. I should've known better."

"I have," Oliver protested. "Laurel, please-"

Laurel shook her head. "You know, when you confessed to me that you had slept with Sara, I forgave you, even when I shouldn't have. And now-"

Laurel turned her head and her eyes met Felicity's.

"Wha…Me?" Felicity said with shock. "Wha-W…" She pointed between herself and Oliver. "W-We're really not-" Felicity started, but Laurel had already turned around.

Felicity opened and closed her mouth, alternating between looking at Oliver and Laurel's retreating back.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you go chasing after her?" Felicity said, turning to look back at the direction Laurel left in. Felicity shoved at Oliver's arm. "Go," she urged.

But Oliver just stayed there. Even if he went after Laurel, what would he say? The truth was dawning on him as well. There _was _somebody else.

"If you don't go after her, _I _will," Felicity said, taking off after the brunette. She shook her head and her disappointment hurted more than Laurel's.

If he didn't do anything now he was about to lose both of them. He took a step toward the door and that's when pandemonium struck. Suddenly everyone was rushing towards the window, shoving past him to get there faster.

He managed to grab an employee just as he ran by.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"The Hood, he's in the streets!" the man replied enthusiastically.

Oliver followed him towards the window where people were jostling one another for a good view. Once they noticed who he was they parted enough so he could get to the edge. Down below he could see the Arrow taking care of a petty criminal in the streets. A crowd had gathered around him, cheering. The people besides him mimicked the crowd's support.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" One of the receptionists said to her friend.

Oliver watched his colleagues' expressions. They all seemed to love the Arrow, singing him praises and taking photos of him as if he were a celebrity.

"You guys like the Hood?"

The girls looked shocked he was talking to them, let alone asking them a question about the city's star vigilante. They exchanged glances at one another before both enthusiastically nodding their heads.

"He's so dreamy," one of the girls said in a sigh.

"Seriously, check out how he rocks that green leather."

The girls giggled together and Oliver turned his attention back to the streets. As if the hooded vigilante could sense his stare, he looked upwards and their gazes met. The sensation was eerie and Oliver couldn't help feeling himself bristle.

By the time the commotion died down and he got to the streets, the Hood was already gone and so was his chance to find Laurel or Felicity. All that was left for him was a single broken arrowhead lying on the floor. Oliver picked it up and pocketed it.

FELICITY

Felicity woke up tired and aching. She's been anxious the entire day and could barely focus on the PR meeting she was sitting in with Thea. Twice now Thea had asked her something and she only barely managed to not sound like a zoned-out idiot. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts, but it was no use.

_Allied Snows. Allied Snows. Allied Snows._

She wrote the words over and over on the notepad she was supposed to be taking notes on. Who were these people? What did they want with Queen Consolidated? What did they want with _Oliver_?

Felicity couldn't concentrate. All she could do was stare at those two words. When she bored of that she started to write them vertically.

_A_

_L_

_L_

_I_

_E_

_D_

_S_

_N_

_O_

_W_

_S_

She paused. Suddenly struck by the arrangement of the letters. Her heart began to pound, feeding blood into her brain as her mind went into overdrive. She started scribbling quickly, ignoring the frowns Thea and Mark, the publicity chair, were giving her.

"Ahem, as I was saying… what we need right now is a show of strength to boost both the public's opinion of QC, as well as company morale," Mark rattled on.

"And what do you suggest?" Thea asked.

"Perhaps a party is in order."

"A party," Thea repeated, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Do you really think it's a good idea in light of the tragedy that has just struck? We haven't even had time to schedule a funer-" she cut herself off, unable to say the word. "We still don't know yet what has happened to my brother and mother…" Thea finished carefully.

"I know, I know," Mark replied. "But I was thinking we could do a gala to fundraise for all the victims of the bombing. Not only will it show that Queen Consolidate care about their employees, but it'll send the message that we are here to stay and we're not going to cower from this horrific event. It'll also be a good opportunity for you to schmooze with possible investors."

Thea swallowed thickly. "How much would this cost?"

Mark sighed. "To be honest… more than we can afford at the moment… but we've had an offer to help sponsor."

"Let me guess… Allied Snows," Thea said snidely.

Felicity perked up at that.

"No!" The word left her mouth before she had time to even register what she said. Everyone was staring at her. Thea was looking particularly impatient. "I mean… no way can we pass up this opportunity. I think it's a good idea."

Mark's eyebrows were quirked, but he smiled and nodded. "I agree. I think it would be our best course of action at the moment."

Thea sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Fine. We can even use Verdant for the event. It's not like it's been booked solid lately anyways."

With that the meeting adjourned and everyone got up to leave. Felicity was itching to go, but the moment she stood up Thea's voice called out to her.

"Can you stay here for a minute, Felicity?"

Felicity's whole body was shaking with nerves and she clutched her notepad tightly, but nodded and sat back down.

"What is wrong with you today?" Thea asked point blank.

"Nothing, I was ju-"

"No, not nothing. You've been distracted this entire meeting and I can't believe you just agreed with Mark to allow Allied Snows help sponsor this. You know it was probably Simon's idea to get them involved. His way of trying to sneakily get me to agree to sell my shares to them." Thea shook her head. "Have you even gotten a hold of Walter yet?"

Felicity's shoulders stiffened. "No… his assistant tells me he is still out of the country. I'm sorry. I've been trying, but he just can't be reached. I've already left numerous messages at his office. I'm sure as soon as he finds out he'll contact us."

Thea slumped back in her seat with an exhale of breath. She rubbed her hand over her eyes. "The divorce with my mother was enough to send the man out of the country. Maybe he simply doesn't care about what happens to the Queens anymore."

Felicity shook her head. She has worked with Walter Steele long enough to know that he had always cared for the Queens, even before he married Moira. Robert Queen had been his best friend. He had been Thea's stepfather for five whole years. Wherever her was… if he knew what had happened, he'd come rushing back. She was sure.

"I just… he's the only family I have left. The only chance I have left to keep this company together…" Thea whispered.

Felicity felt her stomach drop. She reached a hand out and clasped Thea's shoulder. "I will keep trying," she promised.

Thea nodded and they both got up to leave. Just before Felicity reached the door, she turned back.

"And Thea? Walter is not the only family you have left. We'll find Oliver. I promise."

She left before the youngest Queen had a chance to question her. Walking fast, she glanced down at the scribbling on her notepad.

ALLIED SNOWS

ALLIES DOWNS

SNAIL SLOWED

SIDEWALLS ON

SWAN DOLLIES

SANDI OSWELL

LISA LOWNDES

LEADES WILSON

**SLADE WILSON**

Allies Snows… Her heart pounded hard in her chest. It was an anagram for Slade Wilson.

She's heard of that name before. Oliver had mentioned it. It was a name from his past, on the island. That meant to get to the bottom of this Felicity was going to need to find someone who knew about Oliver's past.

xxx

Several hours later, three skipped meetings, more than two dozen missed calls and even more text messages and a plane ride, the cab stopped in front of an unassuming brownstone building.

Felicity paid the driver, got out of the car, and walked slowly up the steps to the door. Her hand trembled as it rang the doorbell.

She waited a beat, then another, before she heard footsteps on the other side. She felt the pause as the person on the other side of the door stopped, probably having recognized her through the peephole.

"What do you want?" the voice from the other side called out, door still firmly in place.

"I need your help," Felicity said, her voice shaking. "_Please_."

Another pause. This one seemed to stretch into eternity until finally, Felicity's ears were met with the sound of the lock sliding and the knob turning.

"You're far from home… How did you find me?" Sara Lance, also known as the Black Canary, stood on the other side. She opened the door a little wider so Felicity can see her face properly.

Felicity smiled and adjusted her frames. "I have my ways."

Sara smiled a little bit at that.

"Sara, I know you left to protect your family and I know I'm asking a lot out of you. But I… we need you now," Felicity pleaded. "You need to come back to Starling."

Sara's brows knitted together. "Help you with what?"

Felicity exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "I need you to help me find Oliver. I need you to tell me about Slade Wilson."


	5. Act I: Slumber - Part V

**Part V**

FELICITY

Felicity couldn't keep still. Her leg bounced the entire plane ride back to Starling City, even when Sara laid a calming hand on hers.

Everything Sara had told her about Slade, about Shado and the Island, about Oliver… it was overwhelming. In typical Felicity fashion, she felt a little sorry for Slade. From his standpoint he had been wronged. What Oliver did… Sara had told her that Oliver had just acted on instinct. He had thought that Ivo was going to kill her; he didn't mean to make a choice. Of course Slade never saw it that way. He only knew that because of Oliver, the love of his life was dead. Felicity almost admired the man for his conviction. And then she remembered how crazy he was and love was not an excuse to bomb a building full of innocent people.

Then a part of her wondered if she could ever care about anyone as strongly as that, to go to such lengths, to forget all reason. She hadn't even realized that she had said this aloud until Sara smiled and replied, "Well, you did just put together some very obscure clues, tracked me down and flew two thousand miles all just to find Oliver. That's some kind of amazing determination, don't you think?"

"Well when you put it _that _way," Felicity said.

Sara squeezed her hand. "You really care about him, don't you?"

The pilot's announcement that they had just landed saved Felicity from answering.

Sara had only a carry on and Felicity had brought nothing with her so they quickly made their way outside and hailed a cab.

"Where to?" Sara asked. Felicity had been so preoccupied with all the information overload that she hadn't noticed until now that Sara's own hands were trembling. She hated herself for that. Sara was risking a lot to come back to Starling.

"The Foundry… you can stay there while we sort all this out. Besides the place has been pretty empty since Oliver…" Felicity trailed off.

Sara simply nodded.

They reached Verdant and just as they were making their way down the stairs, before she had time to even flip on the switch, Diggle was on them, guns blazing.

Felicity had to stop Sara from tackling him to the ground from reflex.

"Wait! Wait! It's just Diggle." She turned to Diggle, heart still pounding in her chest. The last thing she wanted was to get in the middle of a fist fight between the Canary and her ex-militant partner. "Calm down, Digg! It's just us!"

"Sara?" Diggle asked. Sara nodded, their limbs still tangled from when they had tried to overpower one another in a rather lethal version of twister. They both simultaneously let go.

Diggle brushed himself off sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't know you were even back in town."

"Only just got in," Sara replied. She nodded towards Felicity, "This one tracked me down."

Diggle looked at Felicity now and while his expression was stern, he pulled her into a hug.

"Goddammit, Felicity," he said, his breath ruffling her hair. "I thought that they got to you, too." He released her to glare. "Don't you ever just take off like that without telling me. You had me worried sick. You owe me for covering for you with Thea. God I thought something happened to you."

Felicity readjusted her glasses; they had been knocked askew by Diggle's fierce hug. "I'm sorry… I just had a lead and I couldn't let it go. I was afraid you'd try to stop me if I told you."

Diggle sighed and didn't contradict her. "Well, how about you fill me in now then? Both of you."

Felicity shot a glance at Sara, knowing how much she hated to relive the Island, but she nodded and launched into the story for Diggle.

Diggle was quiet throughout the entire thing, nodding occasionally, his brows slightly crinkled. When Sara was done Diggle set his jaw and turned to Felicity.

"That's a clever anagram, Felicity… but it's a bit of a stretch for an ex-mercenary from Oliver's past to get involved with a biotech company don't you think?"

"Well, remember that article I was telling you about? About how Jervis Tetch was involved with the rehabilitation of soldiers suffering from PTSD? I think that's where he met Slade and they must have formed some kind of partnership. If you trace back to the inception of the company, the timeline matches Oliver's time on the island and when he was brought back to Starling. And Allied Snows attempt to swoop right after the bombing? It's a little too coincidental, don't you think?"

"If this is true, then all of this has been in the making for a very long time. This Slade fella… He's more dangerous than anyone we've ever faced."

"He is," Sara interjected.

"And he has a personal vendetta against Oliver," Diggle continued. "This won't be easy."

"No, it's not. But Oliver would never give up on one of us," Felicity said, her conviction unwavering.

Diggle released a breath, but nodded, squaring his shoulders. "Well, we better get our our heads together soon. The board is putting more pressure on Thea to sign over her shares. She's been digging into her own personal accounts to keep the company afloat, but I worry that at the rate we're going… she's about to run out of choices. With Lacroix leading them… I have a feeling they will push for a decision in time to make an announcement at that gala fundraiser."

"But the gala is this weekend!"

This shouldn't be news to Felicity, but everything was happening so fast. Her heart pounded in her chest. The revelation about Slade Wilson couldn't have come any sooner.

Felicity made her way to her computers and sat herself down at her desk. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

"I've been developing some theories about where Oliver could be." She pulled up a set of blueprints for Allied Snows' new sleep facility. "Since 2008, Allied Snows has been buying up several properties for the expansion of their sleep centers. The construction of this new facility coincides with Oliver's disappearance… It's a hunch, but… I think if they haven't k…" she stopped herself, shaking her head. "If he's their hostage, he's somewhere in one of these properties."

Diggle stood a little straighter and crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "A rescue mission then."

"Yes." Felicity turned to Sara, "I know you just got here… but we need your help."

The corner of Sara's mouth quirked up. "Just say when, boss."

Felicity felt a weight lift from her chest and she smiled back gratefully at the other blonde.

"We don't have much time before the gala, so we'll start tonight." Her eyes caught the sight of Oliver's back up bow and arrow sitting in its case. "Let's bring Oliver home."

OLIVER

Oliver showed up at Felicity's desk, her coffee in tow. He held it out to her despite her distinctive cold shoulder she was giving him.

"Peace offering?" Oliver said to her back. She wasn't peeling her eyes from her computer screen to even spare him a glance.

"You can put it over there," she said, indicating a corner of her desk without looking directly at him.

He sighed softly and placed the coffee where she had indicated. He stood there waiting for her to say something more, but she just continued on as if he didn't exist.

"Felicity, are you going to just keep on ignoring me?"

"Yes," she replied sternly, still not looking at him.

"Well you answered me so you're not _really _ignoring me."

Felicity flashed him a glare. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Did you talk to Laurel yet?" She asked, trying to keep the cool in her voice.

Oliver felt his jaw tighten involuntarily. This time it was he who wouldn't look at her. "No. She hasn't been home. Said she was staying with a friend."

More like Laurel's assistant at the DA office had said as much after he had tried calling her when she didn't come home for two days in a row, but Felicity didn't need to know the specifics.

Felicity's features turned into a frown. "I don't like being a part of this, Oliver. I… I don't like what Laurel thought of us… of _me_. I don't want people to keep misunderstanding."

Oliver could tell she was uncomfortable and flustered by the way she was wringing her hands. She let out a breath and bit her lip.

"Maybe you should consider someone else for the position in your new company."

Oliver felt his whole body tighten, like a noose. "You are the only candidate," he replied evenly.

"Well then maybe you should start looking for some new ones," she replied. "I just… this is starting to get complicated. And as much as I like you," she began, "not _like you _like you, like friend like you." She shook her head. "See? That's the whole problem," she said dejectedly. "I… I've been hearing things around the office…"

"Who?" he demanded.

"People, co-workers. Does it matter?" She seemed to have read the hardness in his eyes because she added, "And even if I did know exactly who, I'm not going to tell you because you'd probably fire them or something and make things even worse!"

"I wouldn't have fired them," Oliver said defensively. It was the truth. He probably would've just given them a warning, a firm talking to, is all.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. For a second her mouth quirked just the tiniest bit at the corner and he felt the tension in his body release.

"I'm not _that _bad am I? Is it really so terrible a notion that you would _like me_ like me?" He had meant to say it as a joke, to lighten the mood, but somehow he couldn't get that hint of hope from tingeing the way the words had come out of his mouth.

Felicity stared at him, alternating from opening and closing her mouth. After a while she finally came out with, "I… I...uh, don't know how to respond to that."

And once again a veil of awkward silence enveloped them.

But Oliver was sick of awkward silences. It felt wrong. He used to be able to tell Felicity everything. He was his Girl Wednesday, his partner, the voice in his ear (literally). He hated the silence. He felt his stomach churn every single time she bit her lip or twist her hands.

"Anyways, I came to ask you for a favor," he blurted out. He dipped his hand into his coat pocket and drew out the arrowhead he had picked up. He held it out to her. "I need you to help me find any information on this. What it's made of, where it came from, who could have made it or bought it… Anything."

Felicity sat up straighter and took the arrowhead from him. This she could do. Give her a task, a puzzle to solve, the more challenging the better. It beats the office politics and gossip.

They both tried not to flinch when their fingers brushed against one another's. They're both works in progress.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, turning it about in her hands.

Oliver didn't say anything, but Felicity could put two and two together.

"There's only one bow and arrow slinger in the city," she said slowly. She turned the arrowhead about in her hand. "Why are you obsessing over the Hood?"

In typical Oliver fashion, he ignores the questions he doesn't want to answer. "Can you help me?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," Felicity said. "Yeah I can do that." There was a light in her eyes, the way they always lit up when she was presented with an interesting challenge.

Oliver smiled, happy to see Felicity back to normal at least. He knew there was still unfinished business between them, but at least she was speaking to him again. He'll settle for that for now.

"Thank you, Felicity."

Just as he turned to go, Felicity's voice called out to him. "Oliver?"

He turned around to face her.

"This will be the last favor," she said softly, so softly that he almost couldn't hear her. But she might have just as well shouted the words the way they had twisted in him, sharp and jagged like a serrated knife. "Okay?"

She said it like a question, like it was his choice, his decision. He knew better than that. She was drawing a line between them. He could feel himself clenching his jaw again.

"Yeah…" he said steely. "Okay."

And he turned and walked away.

FELICITY

Diggle had insisted that she stayed put in the foundry despite all her protest.

"Sara will be with me. You're better use to us here," Diggle said, unmoving to her pleas. To be honest, she knew he was right. But it didn't feel right to let them go without her.

"Sorry to say it, but I agree with Diggle, Felicity. We need you here more than we need you with us," Sara concurred.

When the other blonde saw Felicity's distraught expression she laid her hand on Felicity's arm.

"If we find him, we'll bring him back."

Felicity let out a breath and nodded reluctantly.

That was three days ago. Since then they've been searching different places connected to Allied Snows every night and each time they have come up empty. They were starting to run out of time and Felicity was starting to run out of hope.

She sat in front of her computer, ears straining for news from Sara or Diggle on their latest recon mission, her stomach a mass of knots and tangles.

"We're heading into the basement now," Sara announced, her voice reverberating through Felicity's earpiece.

"I've already knocked out the security system in the building, but be careful. I still see two heat registers moving about in the facility. They're probably just staff: nurses or doctors on the night shift but be careful."

"Roger that."

Tension pulled Felicity taunt like a tightrope. There were so many unseen variables and the tough part was that Sara and Diggle couldn't use their muscle. They still didn't know if Oliver was there for sure and so they couldn't risk taking out any of the security or in any way cause a scene lest it alert Slade that they were on to him. This made things much more complicated.

Felicity's heart pounded in her chest. This was the last property on her list of possible Oliver hideaways. If they don't find another clue here… well, they were back at square one and frankly, they couldn't afford to be back at square one. The gala fundraiser was coming up fast and Thea will have no choice but to cave to the whims of the board at this rate. The merger will happen and Slade will win.

"We're in," Diggle replied after a beat.

Felicity held her breath. She was fixated on the little red dots marking Diggle's and Sara's positions on her computer screen. The basement was too far down that she couldn't pick up heat registers down there, the only reason she could pinpoint Diggle and Sara were from the tracking chips in their earpieces.

Suddenly feedback resounded through her earpiece, making her drop it. When she managed to get it in working order she could hear the sound of scuffling and Sara's panting breath.

"Sara? Diggle? Someone talk to me!"

Suddenly it was silent, which was worse in Felicity's opinion. Silence meant she was blind. It meant she's been cut off. It was in no way a good thing.

"Guys?! What's going on?"

She felt so helpless alone in the Foundry. She slammed her fist to the desk, her hands stinging from the impact.

Suddenly the earpiece malfunctioned again, screeching in her ear. Felicity's mind is on overdrive now, conjuring the worst. Slade got to them. And it was her fault. She dragged Sara into this, she convinced Diggle.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god._

"Felicity?"

It was Diggle's voice, out of breath, but otherwise not distressed.

"I'm here," she shouted back, too loud and too eager than necessary, but she didn't care.

"Felicity… you're going to want to see this."

It was Sara this time.

"I'm uploading a few photos to you now."

Felicity jumped immediately from her tracking window to the Arrow database one. 5%. 10%. 20%. And so on. Finally the files appeared and she quickly double clicked on them to open and enlarge the photos.

"My god," she whispered as the images came into view.

"What do you think it is?" Sara asked through the earpiece.

Felicity wasn't sure how to answer. The blueprints Sara uploaded to her were bizarre, like something out of a sci-fi movie. The image was blurry, but after some image enhancements she managed to make out the words on the bottom of the page: _Ex Somnius Machina_.

Felicity ran a quick translate and she stared at the results.

_The Dream Machine._

Things were getting even more bizarre.

OLIVER

Days went by without seeing either Laurel or Felicity. Or at least, he thought days went by. He still found himself occasionally grasping blindly _when _everything was. And then one day his assistant dropped a package on his desk.

"What's this?"

"I don't know. But it came from," his assistant stared down at her clipboard, "A Felicity Smoak. She told me to tell you, 'It's made in China. Check the report.' I guess that's what the package is."

Despite the many favors he'd asked of her, Felicity had never once used a proxy to talk to him before. This meant she was avoiding him.

Oliver thanked his secretary and tried to fight the urge to knock the package to the floor.

Suddenly he felt angry. He felt _wronged_. Felicity was blaming him for all of their awkwardness, for all of the things happening between him and Laurel. And while it was true he hadn't treated Laurel the best of ways lately, it wasn't like he actually _cheated _on her. Who was Felicity to judge him? To blame him for other people's misunderstandings? Hell, he and Laurel weren't even together from the reality he remembered. And if she truly thought this way about him, she could have had the decency to tell it to his face.

Before he knew it he was marching down to the 18th floor. People jumped out of his way as if he was a stampeding elephant. When he got to her desk he didn't even wait for her to turn and greet him, he just whirled her around in her chair, grabbed her by the hand and yanked her on to her feet. The motion sent files flying everywhere.

"What the hell?!" She screamed at him.

"Come with me for a second."

"No," she said sternly, ripping his fingers from her wrist. "Not when you're acting like an ignoramus!"

She had crossed her arms over her chest and her cheeks were flaring an angry red. Oliver deflated at the sight of her. Glancing around, he noticed that her colleagues had gotten up in their seats and were now peering over their cubicle walls to watch the spectacle he had created unfold. He felt like an ass.

Feeling properly scolded, he stepped toward her and laid his hand gently on her arm.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I… I need to speak with you. Can you come with me? Please? Somewhere more private?" he asked softly, glancing quickly upwards to indicate their gathering audience.

She noticed his glance and looked around, flushing a deeper red when she noticed the quickly averting eyes of her co-workers.

"Fine," she bit out. She shoved past him and stomped toward the elevator. He followed close behind and only once were they both in the same elevator car did he let himself relax.

They went down at least three floors before either of them said anything.

"You're not helping matters the way you're glaring at everyone trying to get in," she said coolly.

"You're right. We should've taken the stairs," he replied.

She scoffed at that. "Not with these heels," she quipped, rising one dainty foot up for emphasis. She wobbled a little in her attempt and it made Oliver smile.

Luckily the last few floors no one tried to get on and they reached the lobby with a _ding_. Oliver laced her hand with his just as the elevator doors opened.

"Come on," he said, urging her forward and ignoring her spluttering protests about their interlocked hands.

Felicity had to walk quickly to match his long strides, all the while ineffectively trying to not draw any attention to their intertwined fingers. Oliver noticed, but took odd satisfaction about the whole ordeal.

It wasn't until they reached outside did he released her. Diggle was by his side in a second.

"Mr. Queen. I didn't get a message that you needed the car. Shall I bring it around for you, sir?"

Oliver merely smiled. "No thanks. I just need the keys. I'd like to drive myself."

Diggle quirked his eyebrow at him and shot Felicity a bemused glance. "Sir?"

"The keys, please, Mr. Diggle," Oliver said, palm extended, smile still firmly placed.

Diggle shook his head, but surrendered the car keys to him.

"Thank you," Oliver said before he took Felicity's hand in his once more. It was becoming a habit of his.

He pulled her along until they reached where Diggle had parked the car. Once at the passenger side, he opened the door and beckoned her in.

She stared at him and the open door. "I thought you said you wanted to talk to me," she said.

"I do."

Felicity shook her head. "I told you that the arrowhead… I told you that that would be the last favor…"

"And it still is," Oliver replied. He drew a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed over to her. She took it gingerly from him, recognizing her own report to him on the arrowhead specs. "If you don't recall, I'm having trouble reading at the moment. I'll need you to dictate for me."

Felicity stared at her own findings and shook her head once more. She thrust the paper back at Oliver. "You can get your secretary to do that for you."

"I only trust you."

She seemed bowled over by that and opened her mouth twice to say something, but only ended up shaking her head.

"You said this was the last favor, Felicity. So please help me see this through."

Felicity swallowed thickly. "Why, Oliver?"

He could come up with a million reasons why. Because she was the expert, because she would be able to figure out things he can't, because he couldn't even read a map on his own, because even if she didn't know it, he still regarded her as his partner. A million reasons and more. But the truth was, all those reasons were just excuses.

"Why me?"

Oliver's piercing blue eyes met hers and again he found himself swelling with the urge to tell her everything.

"I just do," he said simply. It shouldn't be enough, but somehow her eyes softened and she got into the car without questioning him further.

She balked a little when they reached the hangar where his private jet was waiting for them so he plied her with some expensive champagne, to calm the nerves he had insisted, and being the lightweight that she was she promptly fell asleep.

He didn't mean to, but he watched her as she slumbered, not trusting himself to close his eyes. Too often he lost time whenever he did and he couldn't afford to now. Not when he was so close to finding out just who the Hood is. So close to figuring out when he meant to do with the butterflies Felicity Smoak has spawned in the pit of his stomach.

He'd made a decision then. Whatever truth the island spawned, he would go with it. And he would stop chasing phantoms and live his life.

"Whoa."

Felicity had woken up and had her face pressed to the window, just in time to watch Hong Kong sprawl out beneath them.

xxx

It takes a ferry to get to where they need to get going. Oliver is anxious the entire ride there. He had found himself unable to recall any of his Chinese, but if he considered that fact that he had never been shipwrecked on Lian Yu before, then he would have had no reason to have known mandarin in the first place. In that case, things made sense. So he let it go. Besides, money was a decent enough translator anyways.

"How much did you pay the boat guy?" Felicity asked him. She had been a bit overwhelmed when she realized they had left the country, but now she seemed to be taking everything in stride.

"Less than the airport attendant who was asking for your passport," Oliver replied smoothly.

Felicity was about to make a comment about this when their destination rose up out of the fog in the horizon.

_Lian Yu._

For Oliver the island was always a haunted place. Full of ghosts… but also full of truths. He expected it to be the same now.

They reached land and Oliver didn't even wait for the boat to completely dock before disembarking. Felicity followed him hastily while the boat's captain shouted something in Chinese after them.

"Hey, don't you think we should know what the captain was shouting abou-" She stopped abruptly when she ran face first into his back with an _oof_. Oliver barely noticed it and she grouchily readjusted the frames on her face.

A buzzing had started again in Oliver's head.

"This is wrong," he said softly. The buzzing had reached his legs, crawling slowly up from his toes, spreading to his fingertips.

Felicity wrinkled her brow. "What?"

"This isn't right. This feels wrong," Oliver repeated again.

He took off in a run towards the beach, ignoring all the sand he was kicking up. Distantly he recognized that Felicity was shouting after him, but his pulse was roaring in his ears and everything was _wrong_.

He came to a screeching halt and Felicity came panting beside him.

"Oliver! What the hell got into you?" She stopped when she noticed where his gaze was riveted.

Before them, stuck firmly in the sand, loomed a billboard sized "coming soon" poster advertising plans for a brand new luxury resort.

It wasn't possible.

Before he could gather his thoughts, some men dressed in construction worker outfits were coming out of the trees and were shouting at them in indecipherable Chinese. Felicity looked quite flustered as she tried to communicate as best as she could with her hands. The men were pointing repeatedly at the resort sign and making a cross with their arms over their chests.

"I think they want us to go," Felicity said to him. "We're probably trespassing on their construction site."

But for all of their shouting, Oliver felt rooted to the spot. It wasn't until he saw the shadow flicker at the corner of his peripherals that he felt like he could move again.

Green hued hood, leather, and an unmistakable bow and quiver. _The Hood._

His feet were pounding on the sand before he knew it, Felicity's voice, combined with angry Chinese, shouting after him. He only ran faster. Vaguely he registered that Felicity was going after him, but he couldn't' stop to wait for her. The Hood was within sight. The Hood held all the answers.

He was starting to catch up. His doppelganger only a few feet away. Oliver didn't bother shouting at the vigilante to stop, he just kept on running, maneuvering through the jungle foliage, hopping over roots and kicking up debris. His hand was outstretched. He was so close.

And then his feet gave out from underneath him.

He tried to tuck, to roll, to do everything his training has taught him to do, but his body felt like lead and he fell down hard.

"Oliver!" Felicity screamed.

The world turned upside down. He tried to blink, but his vision was darkening. His last sight was of the Hood disappearing in the distance before everything went black.

xxx

When Oliver finally came to, it was from Felicity's hand smacking him hard across his face.

"Ow," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

Felicity immediately followed her slap with a fierce hug that threatened to squeeze all the air from his lungs. He'd be worried if he wasn't so impressed that she had such strength.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, you're alive. Thank god," she whispered frantically into the crook of his shoulder. She drew away sheepishly and smiled at him. "Sorry about that… you just… you weren't coming to and I kind of freaked out. I'm glad you're okay though."

Despite the stinging of his cheek, he couldn't help but smile back at her. Sitting up he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What happened?"

Felicity's expression turned annoyed. "Well, you kind of ran like a bat out of hell into the jungle like a crazy person. I followed you just in time to witness you oh so very elegantly trip over a hole in the ground and knock your head around. I've been trying to wake you up for the past half hour."

Oliver reached for his head again. He winced as his fingers met the tender spot at the base of his skull.

"I thought you were dead, Oliver! Imagine what it would've been like heading back to QC with the news that I flew all the way to China with our company's CEO only to have him go running into the jungle like a crazy person and offing himself. I can say with certainty that your father would not be amused. And then he'd never agree to write me a letter of recommendation. That would be disastrous for my resume."

Oliver couldn't help smiling at that.

Felicity let out a breath. "Now that you're awake… do you have any idea where we are?"

It was the first time he glanced around at their surroundings. Trees, trees, and more trees surrounded them. The foliage so dense that neither of them could make a clear guess as to which way led back to the beach.

Oliver swallowed and answered Felicity belatedly. "I have no idea."

xxx

Hours seemed to go by before Oliver found his tracks again. Having found that, it was a little easier picking their way through the forest, though they were losing light fast. Felicity was miserable the entire way.

"You know, if I knew I was going to be hiking through the jungle this morning, I would have _not _worn a pencil skirt."

The comment made Oliver glance down at the aforementioned skirt. He couldn't help but notice how nicely it contoured her ass and how it was riding slightly up as she cautiously stepped over overgrown roots. He quickly looked away when she noticed his stare.

Clearing his throat awkwardly he said, "We're almost at the beach." He widened his steps to put a bit of lead between Felicity and himself, as to avoid her seeing his flushed cheeks.

"I saw that," Felicity's voice called out to him from behind.

He kept walking.

By the time they reached the beach the sun was down. Felicity stumbled out of the jungle after him and he caught her hand to steady her.

She immediately let go when she noticed the empty beach, completely devoid of any signs of their boat or of any humans for that matter. He watched as she ran towards the water, her feet getting soaked by the surf. Watched as she scanned the horizons and came up empty. He met her gaze when she turned back to look at him, an expression of panic on her face.

"Oliver… I think I figured out what those Chinese construction workers were trying to tell us."

They were stranded.


	6. Act I: Slumber - Part VI

**A/N: **This is a tremendous Olicity chapter and I had so much fun writing it. A lot of things come to fruition in this one so it ended up being a bit longer than I expected. I hope that won't affect the pace too much. I'm also experimenting with pairing music while I write certain scenes. So for those of you who want some sound while reading to get in the mood, here's my proposed mini soundtrack for this chapter (I've tried to stay as spoiler free as possible): 8tracks fadingtales/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this-act-i-part-vi-playlist

* Oliver and Felicity on the beach - The Loved Ones by Sanders Bohlke

* Felicity and Oliver before heading home - I Know You Care by Ellie Goulding

* Sara and Felicity - Crown On the Ground by Sleigh Bells

* Laurel and Oliver - Would You Please by Rachael Yamagata

* Oliver runs after Felicity - Can't Pretend by Tom Odell

* Felicity hacks into Jervis Tetch's email - Glory And Gore (Yuthnasia Remix) by Lorde

+ 2 Bonus Tracks

I hope you guys enjoy. All reviews, comments, likes, etc... are appreciated!

**PART VI**

OLIVER

After freaking out for a solid five minutes, Felicity quickly gathered herself together and started trying to take her cellphone apart so that she could reconfigure it to get a signal.

"I'm sure somebody will be back tomorrow morning," Oliver told her. "They probably just went home for the night."

Oliver had managed to rustle up some wood for a fire. Felicity looked up from where she was tinkering with her cellphone, sighed and nodded.

"The international rates would be crazy expensive anyways," she said, tucking her phone away into her pocket.

Oliver finished tending to the fire and sat down next to her.

"How does a billionaire playboy learn how to build a fire from scratch?" Felicity teased as she rubbed her hands over the flames.

"Boy scouts," Oliver supplied easily.

"Somehow I don't believe that," Felicity drawled.

Oliver merely smiled enigmatically in return.

"You know… people always talk about what happens if you hypothetically get stranded on an island. I never expected it to actually happen… or that it would be with my boss."

Oliver laughed and it felt like it's been a long time since he had.

He noticed Felicity rubbing her bare arms and promptly shrugged out of his suit jacket. She rebuffed his attempt to draw it over her shoulders.

"No, no. I'm fine. You keep it."

"You're freezing, Felicity. Take the jacket. Besides, I have more body fat to keep me warm."

Felicity snorted and raised her brow at him, "I doubt that very much. Not that I've noticed or anything…"

Oliver grinned. "Take the jacket," he insisted.

Felicity opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it and he draped his jacket over her shoulders. Her fingers brushed his when she reached up to pull the lapels closer together. He fought against the hitch in his throat. The fire had warmed her cheeks, turning them a subtle pink. Her hair was slightly disheveled in an adorable way and he liked the way his jacket enveloped her, a little too large so she was cocooned in it.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anything for you," he said softly in return.

The reply felt natural and he meant it. He had made himself an ultimatum before he stepped foot on the island. It seemed pretty clear now more than ever that whatever is going on… he was most definitively _not _the Arrow. He looked at Felicity again, watching her as she pulled up her knees to chest, as she blew on her hands before holding them towards the fire, and he thought maybe… maybe that's okay. Maybe it's time he can just be Oliver Queen, just the man not the vigilante. Maybe this is his moment to finally allow himself to be with the people he cared about. Because he's realizing it more and more every day that the person he cares most for is the girl sitting right next to him.

He tended the fire for a while, occasionally poking at it and adding some more wood to keep it burning. He'd watch Felicity from the corner of his eyes, listening to the lap of waves and tides beat against the shore.

"It's so quiet out here," Felicity said, her voice a little breathless. "I'm so used to the bustle of the city, it's kind of nice being away from everything."

Oliver smiled, "What? You're not jonesing for some wifi?"

Felicity laughed. "I probably will in a few more minutes, but for now… this is nice." She looked at him and smiled, the kind of smile that reaches her eyes.

He could get lost in that brilliance of her eyes when she smiled that way.

She turned away for a second, drawing in the sand with her finger.

"So are you going to tell me why we flew all the way to China? Or why you freaked out earlier this morning?"

Oliver looked out towards the sea, tuned his breath to the hiss of the waves for a few seconds before answering.

"I… You would think I'm crazy if I told you."

"Try me," she said.

Oliver wanted to, he ached with the need, but every time he poised himself to do it, he just couldn't. It felt insane even to him.

"I just… I just wanted to find out who the Hood was."

Felicity wrinkled her brow. "Why the fascination? I mean, I kind of get it. He's enigmatic, is crazy fit, and takes out criminals for living… a sort of superhero, I guess."

"So you think he's a hero."

Felicity pursed her lips and looked upwards. "I think… I think that when the city was in a really bad place… he was the person to start it back on the right path again. That's something admirable, don't you think?"

Oliver nodded. "I guess… I guess that's the reason why I'm interested in him. He's… the person I wanted to be."

Felicity's lips curled into a smile at that. "You want to be a masked crusader?"

Oliver laughed, "It sounds silly when you put it that way." He twiddled with the stick he was using to tend to the fire and then said, "I was jealous of him. The Hood, I mean. I… I wished I could be a part of something bigger than myself. I guess… chasing after him, coming here… I just wanted to understand who he was."

Felicity regarded him with a tender expression on her face. "You are a good man, Oliver Queen. And you don't need a mask or green leather tights to do good. You've already started."

_A good man. _He can almost believe it when it is coming from her.

They sat in silence for a little while. Just letting the surf put them in a trance. He didn't find the exact answers he was looking for, but being here right now, on the shores of the island with Felicity breathing softly beside him… it felt right. He didn't feel quite so lost anymore.

"You know, it's been ages since I've last gone camping," Felicity said, resting her chin on top of her knees. He turned to look at her, just as the fire caught her eyes.

"My mom… back in Vegas, when she got a nice tip or managed to not spend all of our money on booze that week… she'd sometimes get into these moods where she wants to get away from the city. She'd wake me up early Saturday morning and bundle me up into our beat up old crown vic and drive into the desert."

Oliver just stared at her, listening and watching the firelight dance across her face.

"Let me tell you something, a crown vic is so not made for the desert," Felicity said with a sardonic little laugh. She tossed a splinter of wood into the fire and watched it crackle as the flames ate it up. "But it was nice anyway."

Felicity leaned back and looked up at the sky, her eyes squinted behind her glasses.

"The stars out there… they were amazing," she said this with a grin. "I always felt so small when I stared up at them."

Oliver couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was magnetic, a black hole in his vision and he was caught in her gravity.

"Some people might think it's a lonely feeling considering what tiny specks us humans are in the scheme of things… but I just… I could lose myself in those stars. It's like what you said. It was nice to know that I was a part of something bigger than myself." She turned to smile shyly at him for a brief moment before glancing back up skyward. "These stars out here… they make me feel that way again."

She lifted her arm above her head, her fingers splayed as if she was going to run her fingers through the constellations. She grinned and turned to look at him. Her smile turned sheepish.

"Sorry. Look at me, I'm being all batty because we're stranded on a foreign island," she laughed and her voice was like bells, reverberating in his bones, vibrating in his soul. He memorialized the sound in his head so he could replay them later.

Oliver shook his head. "No, you're not batty at all."

He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. He felt breathless at the sight of her.

"You're amazing, Felicity Smoak."

He traced his thumbs over her cheeks and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth, a gasp of breath between her teeth. That was what that did him in. Before he could doubt himself, before he could overthink it, before he even knew what he was doing, he leaned forward and he kissed her.

Soft and slow and fully loaded with everything he felt for this magnetic, remarkable girl.

She's stiff at first, startled by what he's done, the absurdity of it. Except it wasn't absurd at all. Anything but. And then her lips softened, her mouth opened to his, and he lost all feeling except for that of her lips on his. He deepened this kiss, poured his entire being into it. He tangled his hand into her hair, pulling her into him.

He wondered if she could taste his longing on his tongue. If she felt the shivers that were crawling up and down his spine, as if a ghost were counting the notches. If she felt the same fire smoldering in his belly, burning stronger with every touch of her.

The scent of her has him dizzy, swirling, there was no ground beneath them. He doesn't know how it is possible for someone to smell like sunshine, but Felicity does. And she tastes like hope, like possibility. She tasted like salvation and Oliver was ready for it, he wanted to be saved.

xxx

He woke up to the smell of smoke from the extinguished fire with a crick in his neck and empty arms. He felt hollow in the space where Felicity had previously occupied before. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. There was already a ferry in the horizon, getting ready to dock. He looked around for Felicity frantically, but only finds his jacket, folded neatly in the spot where she had sat the previous night. The place where he had kissed her. The place where she had kissed him back.

He licked his lips and he could still almost taste her sunshine. He looked back towards the ship.

She must have just gone on ahead of him, he rationalized, fighting against the drop in the pit of his stomach that told him otherwise.

He got up, brushed the sand off himself as much as he possibly could, and made his way to towards the direction of the ferry.

They were in the middle of unloading several construction workers. Oliver maneuvered himself against the tide of Chinese men heading to work and reached the ship's captain.

"Have you seen a blonde girl? With glasses?" he asked.

The Chinese man elbowed his companion and spoke to him in Chinese. The companion turned to Oliver and said, in broken English, "Yes. She left on early ferry."

"She left?" Oliver asked, his unease growing more difficult to ignore.

The man nodded.

Oliver stared at nothing for a whole minute. He was rooted to the spot, like the weight of his feet was pulling him under, into the surf, under it, squeezing the breath out of him.

"Are you coming? We are leaving for the mainland now."

The fisherman's voice startled Oliver out of his stupor. He blinked for a few seconds before nodding. The fishermen dropped a plank for him to get on board and he spent the entire trip back to land feeling sick to his stomach, though he doubted it had much to do with seasickness.

The waves kept on coming, even after he reached shore. It didn't abate until he got to his plane hangar and saw her. She was sitting on a stack of crates, her legs crossed at the ankles. She spotted him and stood up, pocketing her phone and brushing dust from her clothes. He let out a relieved breath of air at the sight of her. She was still here. That was a good sign.

"I thought you were gone."

She adjusted her glasses and smiled warily. "I got off the island, but I couldn't very well fly back to the states without my passport. If you recall, you bribed my way into this country."

"Couldn't hack your way into the system?" he said, trying to keep his tone light despite everything he was feeling.

Felicity smirked at that. "It was an option, but I didn't want to risk the international security. Besides…" Her smile faltered then. "I… I think I owe you an explanation, for why I ran off."

"We can talk when we get back-" Oliver tried to smile for the both of them and he reached out for her hand, but she pulled away before his fingers could reach hers. He felt the rejection distinctly.

"No. I think it's better if we talked now," she insisted.

The roiling in his stomach had returned.

"I've been thinking…" she began.

He was usually a fan of Felicity's thinking, but something told him he wouldn't like what she was about to say next.

"What happens on the island should stay on the island," she finishes with a big sigh, as if it took everything in her to push those words out. "I don't know what I was thinking, that kiss-" she interrupted herself with a nervous laugh. "I don't know what I was thinking. It must have been just… _shock _from being stranded halfway around the world and then there _you _were. And there was the starlight and the fire, and the waves in the distance… it all just kind of muddled up my head. I wasn't thinking straight."

"_I _was," he countered.

This was not the response she had been expecting and it showed on her face. For a moment he thought she'd let him take her hand this time, but she looked down, away from him.

"I… I-I like you," she said it quickly, as if she rushed it out then it would disappear just as quickly. "I mean… what girl wouldn't? You're kind of the stuff romance novels are made of: charming, rich, handsome… And you care." She smiled a little at that last one. "I know what the tabloids say about you, but… I…I believe you when you tell me you want to make the city a better place. I believe you when you say you want to be a good person. Because I _know_ that you are."

Her words, for all their flattery, are slowly ripping up his insides. He's just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"But I can't do this, Oliver."

And there it was. The other shoe. He felt like the floor gave out underneath him.

He stepped forward, tried to reach for her hand again, but she shook her head and he let it drop, catching empty air. It was amazing how a shake of her head could bring his entire world crumbling down, more than a million bullet wounds, more than watching his father take his last breath, more than waking up and finding out that he's not the Arrow, more than anything .

"I'm a simple person, Oliver. I… I can't, I _won't _get involved with someone who's already with somebody else." She shook her head again. "I'm sorry for kissing you back. That was stupid of me. You and me… _us… _it's just too complicated. I just don't think it's a good idea."

Oliver opened his mouth, but Felicity held her hand up.

"Don't… don't say anything," she whispered. "I feel like if you do, somehow you'll convince me otherwise. Don't… don't make me into that kind of person, Oliver," she said softly.

There was an ache building, from the tips of his fingers, working its way up through his body to his throat. He clenched his jaw and looked away from her.

"Can we just go home?" she said softly.

How could he deny her anything? So he simply nodded and they both boarded the plane without saying another word to one another.

FELICITY

Thanks to Sara and Diggle's latest discovery of the unnerving Dream Machine blueprints in the basement of the sleep center, Felicity also gained access into Allied Snows' classified files, as no right mind company would leave any sensitive information on a computer connected to the internet.

She'd been spending all her time now cooped up in the Foundry, leaving Diggle to handle Thea. To say the youngest Queen was peeved would be an understatement. But Felicity needed to do this. They were running out of time and finding Oliver now was the only chance they had. It wasn't just the company at stake now. If the Dream Machine, a terrifying contraption that seemed to be made for the sole purpose of altering people's subconscious, was any indication of what Allied Snows was capable of, it was just the tip of the iceberg. It would seem then that Slade has much more insidious plans than just revenge on Oliver Queen.

"Argh!" Felicity released an anguished growl.

Almost everything on the Allied Snows database was encrypted and she was having a hellish time getting past each security level to get to the juicy stuff.

Sara stopped in the middle of her routine on the salmon ladder and hopped effortlessly to the floor. She made her way to the techy blonde, towel over her shoulder. Sara stopped beside Felicity in time to witness her slam her hands down on her keyboard.

"You alright?"

"I'm sorry… just… frustrated is all."

Felicity stared at her computer screen and suddenly felt the pinpricks of tears behind her eyes. She quickly wiped them away before Sara could see, but it was too late.

"I just…," she let out a breathy sob. "I feel like I've failed him. I've failed Oliver."

Without a word, Sara grabbed Felicity by the hand and dragged her up out of her seat.

"Wh-what are you-"

"You need to take a breath and step away from the computer screen," Sara said. "Come with me."

Without waiting for Felicity's answer, Sara pulled her along. She let go when they reached the exercise mat. After rummaging through her bag, Sara tossed Felicity a change of clothes. Felicity caught the items awkwardly.

"What are these?"

Sara placed her fists on her hips, a sly smile tugging on her lips. "Well, you can't very well learn how to fight in a pencil skirt."

Felicity blinked at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "What? No, I don't have time for this. I still need to-"

"Break into Allied Snows' encrypted database, find Oliver, save the world from Slade Wilson? Yes, I know," Sara interrupted. "Both you and Ollie are real overachieving do-gooders, you know that? You two deserve each other."

Felicity spluttered, not quite sure how to respond to that. Sara only continued to smile at her.

"You're cute when you're flustered."

Sara's sly smile and comment did not help things. And then Sara's face turned serious for a moment.

"You haven't failed, Ollie," she said. "If anything you're the one fighting the hardest to bring him home."

Felicity bit her lip and stared down at the bundle of clothes Sara had thrown her.

"Come on," Sara urged, her tone light once more. "Let's get your heart pumping a little. Vent out some of that frustration physically."

Felicity exhaled a sigh, having realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with the other blonde. She grudgingly pulled on Sara's borrowed workout clothes, feeling a little self-conscious about her flabby arms and her general lack of muscles whatsoever. It didn't help that Sara kept staring at her.

"What?" Felicity asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Nothing," Sara replied. "I always knew you were cute, but you're also pretty hot."

Felicity's face burned with embarrassment, though she was flattered someone as tough and amazing as Sara was capable of thinking such a thing about her.

"Thank you for the compliment," Felicity replied. The two girls grinned at one another.

The grin doesn't last long because soon Sara had Felicity doing reps on the stairs, crunches, push-ups, pull ups, the whole gamut of exercises. And that was all before they even started any actual hand to hand combat.

By the time Sara busted out the kickboxing gloves, Felicity was sore in places she didn't even know existed. Despite all the sweat and tears, Felicity had to admit… sometimes it helped to just punch something.

"Faster," Sara demanded, dancing around her.

Felicity jabbed, her fist hitting the pads Sara held up with a satisfying smack.

"Watch your footwork," Sara called out. "And keep those arms up!"

Felicity did as she was told, sweat dripping into her eyes.

"That's good," Sara encouraged. "Put your weight into it."

And Felicity did.

"Come on! Hit like you mean it!"

Felicity punched once.

"Another!"

She punched twice.

Every single time she threw a punch, she imagined Slade Wilson and Allied Snows on the other end. So she kept on punching. Kept on doing it until she was completely and utterly spent and she collapsed on the floor mat. Sara grinned at her and tossed her a bottle. She smiled back, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Ready for round two?"

"W-what?" Felicity said breathlessly.

Sara laughed, the sound echoing through their hideout. "I'm just kidding." Sara offered Felicity her hand and Felicity grasped it.

"Thank god."

But Felicity smiled when she said it. There was a fire burning inside her now, maybe it was just her newly minted muscles, but she felt better, her head clearer. And now that her head was clear Slade better start watching his back. Because she was coming after him with all she's got.

OLIVER

Oliver couldn't put it off any longer. Not after what had happened with Felicity. He had to talk to Laurel.

For too long now, unfairly so, he had held onto Laurel, to the idea of her, to the memory of what they used to be. He's realized now that they weren't the same people anymore. At least he wasn't… and it wasn't fair to keep acting like they were.

He had tried to call her, but they all went straight to voicemail. Her assistant was tight lipped as well. This left only their mutual friends to go to. Oliver wasn't quite sure what relationship Sara and Laurel had anymore, so he crossed Sara off his list. That meant Tommy.

"Oliver!" Tommy said slightly surprised by his visit. "I wasn't expecting you, what's up?"

"Hey, I'm looking for Laurel and I was wondering if you knew where she was..." Oliver trailed off.

He didn't need to continue because the next moment Laurel walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in a large shirt and shorts, toweling her hair.

"Is that the pizza guy? I swear to god, Tommy, you've better ordered me my wings this tim-" Laurel stopped short when she realized it was Oliver at the door.

She had sounded so lighthearted, so different from how she'd spoken to him lately. Before leaving she was always on eggshells with him and after it was just ice. He had almost forgotten that she could sound happy. He realized then that it was probably his fault.

"I didn't know Laurel was staying with you," Oliver said measuredly.

Tommy's eyes widened at that. "W-wait, it's not what you think, man," he glanced back at Laurel, giving her a dirty look before he turned back to Oliver. "I thought you knew. I thought she told you that she was crashing with-"

"You don't need to explain anything to him," Laurel interjected.

Her face had turned steely and she tossed her towel aside. She stepped in front of Tommy.

"It's not your fault, Tommy. I'm sorry for getting you involved." Her eyes were still boring into Oliver's, but her tone was soft. "Let's go talk," she said to Oliver.

She walked past him, not waiting for him to follow her, though he did.

They walked for a while until they reached the park nearby Tommy's penthouse. Laurel walked over to the swing set, mindlessly running her fingers over the chains.

"It took you long enough," she muttered to Oliver.

Oliver swallowed, feeling the guilt dig its claws into his chest.

"I have to admit… the reason why I stayed with Tommy was because I was hoping you'd get jealous."

Oliver just stared at her, his brow creased. She wasn't looking at him, still fiddling with the chains on the swings.

"That was really shitty of me to use him like that," she took in a gasp of breath, "Tommy is the only one that actually cared, you know."

"Laurel," her name was a whisper on his lips.

She looked at him then, her eyes brimming with salty tears. Her nose had already turned a rose pink. The look she gave him broke his heart.

"I waited for you," she confessed. "I counted the days, thinking you'd be banging on the door any second. But you never came."

"I'm sorry, Laurel." It came out raspy and hoarse. He ached to say more, but he couldn't fathom the words that would make things right.

She shook her head. "You know what happened though? After a while I stopped waiting."

She smiled, even as the tears ran down her face. She brushed them away impatiently.

"And I was okay." She looked him in the eyes and there was a sudden clarity in them that he'd never seen before. "I was okay without you."

Laurel stopped crying then. She vowed to herself that she would not waste another single tear on Oliver Queen again.

Oliver regarded her carefully, nodded, and willed all of his sincerity into his voice. "It's good that you're okay without me. You deserve so much better, Laurel. And I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you."

Laurel laughed, but it wasn't bitter. "You're right. I do deserve better and you should be sorry." She doesn't bother with sugarcoating anything.

He didn't have any excuses, didn't want to make any. He was done with them. So he simply nodded.

"I'm an asshole."

"A major one."

"Yeah," he agreed.

They fell into a quiet then, but unlike their previous interactions, this one felt much less loaded.

Laurel breathed out a sigh and rubbed her arms. "I guess this is it. We're over?"

"Yeah, I think it has to be," Oliver said.

Laurel just nodded. Her eyes were still red rimmed and she sniffed once, but she looked lighter to him suddenly. Relieved almost. Maybe they both were. They had been stuck in one place, together, for so long. Thinking it was what they both needed, doing what was expected of them, if only out of habit, because they'd been together for so long now. Even when it didn't make sense anymore.

"You've really changed," Laurel said, breaking the moment. "I've started to notice it… ever since… ever since you met her."

Oliver looked her, his brows creased, but there was no malice in Laurel's voice. It was simply matter of fact.

"You look… different," she said, softly. "I wonder if I look different too."

Oliver nodded and this time he smiled. "You do."

Laurel nodded back once. "I feel different," she said. "It feels good."

They stood out there for a few more minutes, just taking everything in, adjusting to the shift in their relationship. Finally, Laurel said she'd better go, she needed to apologize to Tommy.

"Tommy's a good guy," he said.

"Yeah," Laurel agreed, her tone wistful.

"You two look good together." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he even realized it. It had been a simple observation.

Laurel smirked at him. "We've only just broke up like 60 seconds ago. Don't start playing matchmaker with me just yet, Oliver Queen."

Oliver laughed at that. Laurel grinned as well. And Oliver felt the tension that was wound up so tight inside him, like a coil, release. They were going to be alright.

They were going to be alright.

xxx

Oliver goes to find Felicity the first opportunity he gets. He practically runs to her office. He's never felt as light as he does before. His feet feel like they barely touch the ground. The only thing that could complete his feeling of utter happiness would be to see her face. To see those sparkling blue eyes, see the quirk of her pink lips, see her adjust her glasses from the crooked position balanced on her nose. He wanted to be the one to fix them for her. Wanted to be the one to press a kiss to those lips, wanted to be the one that brought the sparkle into her eyes.

He felt heady with the feeling. There was a buzzing, all throughout his body. He felt invincible in that moment, in that cathartic realization that he, Oliver Queen, was in love with Felicity Smoak. He couldn't stop smiling as he played it all out in his head.

He ignored the side looks QC employees gave him as he almost giddily press the elevator button for the IT department.

Everything stopped the moment he took a step onto the 18th floor.

The place where Felicity sat was empty. It was cleared of her usual scatter of paperwork, of all her post-it notes. Even her signature red pen was gone and the computer sat eerily quiet without the sound of her incessant typing and clicking to fill the void. Her chair felt distinctly hollow without her in it. It was a chasm that matched the feeling in Oliver's stomach.

Seeing another IT employee walk by, Oliver grabbed the man's elbow. The ID badge on his chest stated that he was the department manager.

"Excuse me, do you know where Felicity Smoak is?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? She quit yesterday."

"What?"

"Yeah, it was out of the blue. Didn't even give her two weeks' notice. It's going to be a bitch trying to replace her," the IT manager lamented. As if he suddenly realized who he was talking to his eyes widened and he stood up straighter. "Apologies for my language, Mr. Queen."

Oliver ignored him. "Do you know where she went?"

"I heard she got a job working for Walter Steele's campaign as their tech guru. She went down to HR to finish up the paperwork a little while ago. Maybe she's still there if y-"

Oliver didn't wait for him to finish. He was already running. People jumped out of his way as he dashed towards the elevator. He pounded his fist on the elevator button, but it was taking too damn long so he took to the stairs even though HR is on the 3rd floor and he's on the 18th.

He stumbled down the steps, nearly taking out people on his way down. He finally made it to the right floor, bursting through the doors of the Human Resources office, panting and leaving a trail of scattered papers and files in his wake from the people he shoved past.

Everyone stared at him like he was some crazed lunatic. He probably looked the part, but it didn't matter. He looked around, searching for that telltale flaxen head of hair. He walked briskly through the hallways, glancing over the cubicles and ignoring several of his employees inquiring what it was he's looking for.

"Felicity Smoak," he said finally, breathless. "Was she just down here?"

"Y-yes. She just got her last paycheck from Berta. She should be done by now."

"Where?" he demanded.

The poor petrified employee lifted his arm and pointed towards the office across the hall by the elevators. It was then that he spotted her, tucking an envelope into her bag and making her way towards the exit.

She hadn't seen him and every second he spent staring the further she was getting away. His feet pounded on the ground, mimicking the pounding beneath his rib cage.

Felicity looked up just as the elevator door dinged open and took a step inside. It was just as she turned around as the elevator door was closing that she saw him through the gap.

She gasped audibly as he shoved his arm between the sliding doors before they could slam shut. Their eyes met through the crack. Her eyes were full of surprise and his breath was coming to him shallowly. The moment seemed to last an eternity, their gazes locked.

He pushed at doors forcefully. Felicity stared at him wide-eyed, clutching her bag to her chest as he shoved the doors apart and took a step inside the elevator, panting and out of breath. The sight of him, sweaty and determined, seemed to have sucked out all the air in the room.

He stared at her for a long moment, trying to slow the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Then he took a breath as the elevator doors closed behind him. He took the spot beside her without speaking and pressed the button for the ground floor.

They didn't say a word to each other. She was still staring at the door, at the spot he recently vacated, and he was watching the lights on each of the floors they passed blink.

The door dinged open and he snatched her hand before she could move, before she could protest or say anything.

For her part, she doesn't protest. She doesn't say a single thing as he led them through the lobby, past his father and mother, past Diggle, past the hundreds of staring eyes that followed them out of the building.

They hit the open air and he kept walking until they've put at least several blocks between themselves and Queen Consolidated. Even then he doesn't let go of her hand.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he asked without preface.

Felicity inhaled deeply, her mouth slightly agape. She looked away quickly and then back to him.

"I thought it was the right thing to do. After… after the island. I didn't think that I… that we should work together anymore," she shrugged.

"You should've told me."

"Oliver," Felicity began, not looking him in the eye.

"No. Let me speak first," Oliver interjected. "_Please_."

Felicity stared at him, the corners of her mouth tight, but she nodded.

"I don't want this. I didn't mean for that kiss to happen that way," he said.

He saw a flicker of hurt cross her face and somehow that gave him hope.

"I mean, I _meant _it," he emphasized. "But I shouldn't have done it then. Not when I still had unfinished business." He took a breath. "I broke up with, Laurel."

Felicity looked genuinely surprised. "Oliver, you shouldn't ha-"

"I wasn't in love with her. Not the way I was supposed to be. Not the way she deserved to be. And I think she knew it too. We were both just doing what was expected of us rather than what either of thought was right."

He took a deep breath and stepped toward her. "But I don't want to keep up pretenses anymore. I'm done with that. I'm done with keeping secrets and lies. And right now, at this moment, I need to tell you the truth…"

Oliver didn't take his eyes off of Felicity. His head was pounding, he felt dizzy in her presence, but he had to keep it together.

Because of the life he lived, as the Arrow, he couldn't be with the people he could really care about. But that didn't apply anymore. Neither did his reasons for not being with _the _person he cared about most.

Felicity pulled away. "This… This is just an infatuation."

Oliver shook his head, but found himself unable to explain. For how could he? How could he tell her? How could he tell her that they've both lived another life? That he had started to care for her long before this one? That of all the people he knew, he trusted her the most. Has trusted his very life to her and she had saved him, more than once. That he knew her so intimately, in so many ways, except for the way he wants most of all right at this moment.

"I'm… I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to be _that _girl, Oliver. I'm not going to be the girl that makes you leave your girlfriend. The girl who gets involved with her boss. I can't take that kind of risk for someone… someone who barely even knows me."

"I know you."

"No, you don't-"

"_I do_. I know that you're an incredible, intelligent, talented woman. I know that you worked your ass off at MIT because you were always afraid of ending up a cocktail waitress like your mother, but you don't realize just how brilliant you really are. How brave and wonderful you really are. I know that you like your coffee with two sugars and two creams. That you bite on your red pen when you're nervous. And you're afraid of commitment because your father walked out on you and your mother, but that doesn't stop you from believing in love anyways. I know this because you've let a messed up billionaire ex-playboy with one too many secrets into your life and you trusted him."

"How… how did you know all that?" Her words are almost a whisper.

"Would you believe me if I said you told me in another life?" Oliver said, smiling.

Felicity's expression is bemused and Oliver closed the gap between them. He cupped her face with his hands, brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. She breathed a gasp and he could feel her body tighten, but she doesn't move away.

"I've fallen for you, Felicity Smoak."

He willed every single ounce of his being into his words so she can feel the weight of _them _in the vibrations.

"I'm in _love _with you."

His body trembled with the syllables, he meant them so much. She closed her eyes briefly and in that moment he never felt anything as powerful as the urge to kiss her. He restrained himself by pressing his forehead against hers with a sigh. He needed to say it first. Needed to say it in so many words so she'd understand.

"I love you," he said. "I love you."

It's as if once he's started, he couldn't stop. He savored the way the words strung together. The way her mouth parted upon hearing them.

"I think I have for a long time now and I'm not going to waste another minute by denying it or fighting it."

She stared up at him, her eyes shining like glass, her lips quivering, but there was an upwards tilt to their corners.

And then he did kiss her, putting all the feelings he couldn't convey adequately in words into the act. One of his hands slipped to her waist and he splayed his fingers against the curves of her hips, pulling her closer to him.

When she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, he knew it was for keeps.

FELICITY

Felicity came out of the shower to the sight of a red alert flashing on her computer screen. She threw her towel casually over her shoulders, rubbed her sore arms, and sat down at her desk. The alert came from one of her programs set to hack Jervis Tetch's personal email. It had just finished downloading his entire inbox, outbox, spam, etc. You'd be surprised the incriminating things people think they've deleted from their emails. They always remember to clear the recycle bin, but they don't always remember the sent folder.

Felicity set up a search for a few key words and waited for the program to do its magic while she took a sip from her water bottle. The results nearly made her spit out her drink.

Work orders for some rather high tech medical equipment amongst other things spanned throughout the last few months prior to the QC bombing. The orders were sporadic enough that had she not been looking for some common factor between them they wouldn't seem suspicious at all. Especially for a biotech company planning to expand their business. But the thing that made her choke on her water was the address.

All items were delivered to one address… it was on the outskirts of the city. Felicity's heart threatened to burst out her chest at the rate they were pounding beneath her ribs. She did some quick cross-referencing, her fingers trembling.

Yes, it was the same. The warehouse where it all began, where Oliver first disappeared. And then she saw it. The blood work order. Oliver's blood type, his height, his weight. All things she knew because of the many times she had to play doctor and stitch him up. All of it was listed under the pseudonym of John Doe.

The thought flitted across Felicity's mind like an insect skittering across a sunbeam. And then it multiplied, like a swarm, casting a long shadow over everything. The incredulousness of it, the irony, made Felicity go still.

Sara had just came out of the shower herself and she could immediately tell something was happening by the expression on Felicity's face.

"What's wrong?" Concern laced Sara's tone.

Felicity shook her head, breathed, "I… I think I found him." She looked up and met Sara's eyes. "I think I know where they've been keeping Oliver."

He'd been there all along. He'd never left where they lost him in the first place.


End file.
